scientology`s - Freedom Magazine

Transcription

Investigative Reporting in the Public Interest
Special Report
The Story the S.P. Times
Refused to Tell
www.freedommag.org
www.freedommag.org
David
Miscavige
At the helm of
scientology’s
explosive growth
1
The Bigotry Behind the
Times’ Facade of Responsible
Journalism
St. Petersburg Times building at 490 First Avenue South in St. Petersburg
I
n recent years, the S.P. Times has worked hard to present a
more honest and credible image to the public, attempting
to shed its reputation for biased reporting. The newspaper’s
recent “special” report exposed the facade: At its core, the S.P.
Times has not changed. It is an organization that twists the news
to incite hatred against Scientologists and stops at nothing to
paint a false picture of the Scientology religion and the Church.
Recounting its long record of bigotry toward the Church of
Scientology, its members, staff and leaders is unnecessary.
That is something with which most Tampa Bay residents are
all too familiar, including thousands of non-Scientologists
appalled at the Times’ attempts to unfairly stigmatize
Scientologists who are their friends.
But if the Times has not changed, the articles in this magazine
detailing Scientology’s explosive expansion in both Clearwater
and around the world show how Scientology has continued
to grow. As the Church has gained greater local prominence,
Juxtaposed with the day-to-day reality
of friends, neighbors and workmates who
are Scientologists, the hysteria of the Times’
stereotypes has become self-evident.
thousands of Scientologists have contributed to improving their
community through charities and civic groups. Scientologists
work alongside friends and neighbors on civic and cultural boards,
in sports and arts societies and in numerous social partnerships.
The newly restored Fort Harrison regularly hosts functions for
other charitable organizations; public are welcomed for tours
and Church staff work hard to invite questions and provide an
open response. Juxtaposed with the day-to-day reality of friends,
neighbors and workmates who are Scientologists, the hysteria of
the Times’ stereotypes has become self-evident.
A full and objective review of the recent allegations the Times
presented to the Church from four ex-Scientologists evidences
both the lack of credibility and sinister motives of these sources—
people who will say anything to attack their former faith.
• The same false allegations have been posted on the “grassy
knoll” of the Internet by avowed Scientologist-haters for years.
• Even though first-person accounts from dozens of
eyewitnesses demolished the fabrications presented by the
Times’ sources, reporters Joe Childs and Tom Tobin refused
to hear from those eyewitnesses.
• The Church provided an unprecedented amount of
documented evidence and detailed accounts proving the
sources had lied.
• The Church also provided detailed evidence regarding the
motives of these four apostates to lie about the religion and
its leader: delusionary ideas of “taking over” the Church,
resentment over their removal from posts and money.
In the most offensive gesture of all, the S.P. Times refused
to accept an offer of an in-person interview with Mr. David
Miscavige, the ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion.
The interview would have been his first in 11 years and only
the third in his 25-year career as the Church’s leader. Despite
purporting to seek this interview, to which Mr. Miscavige had
immediately agreed, the newspaper abandoned its facade of
objectivity, cancelled the interview and rushed to print. The
Times reporters and their bosses knew the scheduled interview
with Mr. Miscavige was absolutely essential under fundamental
journalistic standards and ethics. When they turned their backs
on that interview, the reporters made a conscious decision to turn
their backs on the truth. After all, they knew a response would
further annihilate the credibility of their sources, rendering their
false story fatal.
The Church offered the reporters full and unfettered access to
the Church and all facilities. Tobin and Childs refused to accept
the offer. The Times decided this information “wasn’t relevant”
to their story, that somehow an interview with the Church’s
ecclesiastical leader was unnecessary even for a three-part series
on the man.
So, in response to the Times exhibition of unprovoked
malice and shredding of the truth, Freedom presents the real story
of both the Church … and the so-called journalism practiced by
the S.P. Times.
© 2009 Church of Scientology International. All Rights Reserved. Grateful acknowledgement is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the
copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. FREEDOM, SCIENTOLOGY, DIANETICS, FREEWINDS, THE BRIDGE, OT, LRH, GOLDEN ERA PRODUCTIONS, SCIENTOLOGY
CROSS, SCIENTOLOGY SYMBOL, DIANETICS SYMBOL and the SEA ORG SYMBOL are trademarks and service marks owned by Religious Technology Center and are used with its
permission. Scientologist is a collective membership mark indicating membership in a Church and the Church membership services of the affiliated Churches and Missions of Scientology.
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The True Face of Scientology:
Unparalleled Growth Since 2004
z 8,071 Scientology Churches, Missions and groups
in 165 nations, doubled since 2004
z Total assets and property holdings of the Church
of Scientology doubled since 2004
z Church premises increased from 5.6 million square
feet to more than 11 million square feet since 2004
z 70 buildings acquired by the Church in the world’s
major population centers since 2004
z 401,003 square feet of construction of new
premises completed in the first half of 2009
z 500,000 square feet of Church premises
currently under construction in Brussels, Rome,
Tel Aviv, Quebec, Mexico City, Las Vegas and
Washington, DC
z Number of individuals completing Dianetics and
Scientology counseling and courses doubled in the
past two years
z Total number of counseling hours doubled in the
past decade
z Total number of people newly introduced to
Scientology and starting on training or counseling
doubled in the past five years
z L. Ron Hubbard awarded three Guinness World
Records in the past three years:
• Most published works by a single author: 1,084
• Most audiobook titles on earth: 185
• Most translated author in the world: 71 languages
z 80 million L. Ron Hubbard books and lectures
on Dianetics and Scientology distributed in the
last decade, compared to 5.6 million in the prior
decade
z 60 million books and lectures distributed in the
past two years—more than the combined total in
the first 50 years of Dianetics and Scientology
z The Church’s Bridge Publications in Los Angeles
and New Era Publications in Copenhagen
combined production capabilities increased
660 percent since 2007
z Bridge Publications and New Era Publications
established as the world’s largest all-digital, ondemand publishers, with combined capacity of
500,000 books per week (26 million per year) and
925,000 CDs per week (48 million per year)
z 2.4 million L. Ron Hubbard Dianetics and
Scientology books placed in 97,997 libraries in
155 countries since July 2007
z 12.4 million online visitors from 234 countries
viewed more than 23 million videos on the
Scientology website in the past year
www.freedommag.org
Creating a New Era
of
Expansion
David Miscavige: at the Helm
of Scientology’s Explosive Growth
4 | The Story They Refused to Tell
6 | Cover Story: Creating a New Era of Expansion
11 | Charting the Course for Scientology Expansion
13 | Meeting the Global Demand for
the Scientology Religion
24 | Islands of Friendliness:
Ideal Orgs Around the World
26 | Building for the Future of the Scientology Religion
30 | A Renaissance for Scientology
36 | Meeting the Demand for Scientology Materials
38 | Bringing Scientology to the World:
Golden Era Productions, A Statistical Overview
Humanitarian and social programs
39 | The Church of Scientology’s Planetary
Social Betterment Campaigns
40 | The Truth About Drugs
41 | Human Rights
42 | The Way to Happiness
43 | The Scientology Volunteer Ministers
special
report
inside the s.p. times
44 | Feature Story: Merchants of Chaos
61 | The Critical Omission
63 | David Miscavige: The Peacemaker
65 | Scientology—a World Religion
66 | “Journalism 101”: Trampling on Media Ethics
69 | The Brush-Off: Rush to Judgment, Rush to Press
72 | Those Who Knew Them Best
76 | What Really Happened
78 | How to Be an Investigative Reporter
at the St. Petersburg Times (it’s easy)
79 | A Closing Word
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INSIDE the s.p. times | A FREEDOM SPECIAL REPORT
the story
they refused to tell
david miscavige and the scientology renaissance
C
Churches, Missions and groups in 2004
onspicuously missing from the 16
to over 8,000 in 2009. And in terms
pages of the S.P. Times “Special
of physical scope and global presence,
Report”on Scientology is the true
the Church’s property holdings have
face of the Church’s ecclesiastical
doubled during the same time period
leader, Mr. David Miscavige, the driving
from 5.6 million square feet to over 11
force behind Scientology’s explosive
million square feet. More than 70 new
expansion.
church buildings have been acquired and
Moreover, utterly missing is the
are now in various stages of design and
true face of the Scientology religion,
construction. And Scientology-supported
expanding far greater than ever in its
social betterment and humanitarian
history with Mr. Miscavige at the helm.
programs are now touching the lives
[See The True Face of Scientology:
of billions. But most telling in terms of
Unparalleled Growth Since 2004, p. 3.]
global demand for Scientology are the
Upon request,the Times was immediately
more than 80 million L. Ron Hubbard
informed that Mr. Miscavige would be
books and lectures distributed in the last
available to be interviewed and the date
five years—more than the cumulative
was set for the 6th of July. This would be
of the prior 50 years of the Church’s
directly following the fulfillment of Mr.
existence.
Miscavige’s obligations in preparing,
The Times’ refusal to investigate
producing, presiding over and presenting
this phenomenon and tell the true
the Church’s annual OT Summit—a
Mr. David Miscavige
religious convocation involving nine Chairman of the Board, Religious Technology Center story of Scientology represents a grave
omission that would have exposed all
hours of live broadcast events by
This refusal was especially egregious of the sources’ claims as blatant and bitter
Mr. Miscavige personally, as well as the
presentation and release of over six hours considering the S.P. Times’ sources had lies. For underlying this phenomenon they
of new Church dissemination and training claimed to the reporters that the Church would not only have encountered the true
“was collapsing” and that “statistics face of Scientology but also the true face of
films on DVD.
In total, the Times was from the outset were crashing.” If anything should have its religious leader, Mr. David Miscavige.
alerted the reporters that their sources
Mr. Miscavige has been the driving
offered the following:
1) Unlimited access to Church facilities were feeding them a string of lies and force behind the worldwide program to
in Los Angeles, Clearwater, Dallas and that nothing they said was true, it was expand all of the Churches of Scientology
Nashville, to see first-hand the most this easily disprovable claim. And had to better serve their communities—to not
recently opened Churches of Scientology they bothered to look, this is what they only become islands of sanity and succor
where all are welcome, but to also serve
and talk directly to staff and parishioners; would have seen.
Date-coincident with the summary as central points of emanation for the
2) Interviews with international
management executives at the earliest removal of the Times’ sources by Mr. Church’s many social betterment programs
Miscavige, Scientology has experienced aimed at eradicating the crippling plagues
available date; and
a spectacular renaissance and is growing of illiteracy, immorality, drug abuse and
3) An interview with Mr. Miscavige.
intolerance.
Yet the reporters refused this offer, one more rapidly than ever.
In just the last five years, the Church
Mr. Miscavige redefines the term
which any other media organization in the
world would have considered a jewel of a coup. has literally doubled in size, from 4,000 “religious leader” to fit the tasks necessary
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to direct a truly unique contemporary
religion—the only major religion to emerge
in the 20th century. And now the religion’s
growth has continued at a phenomenal
rate in this century, with the number
of individuals completing Scientology
counseling and course services doubling in
just the last two years, as but one example.
This is being accomplished through his
extraordinary vision in every major aspect,
including:
• Personally driving the international
dissemination of Scientology;
• Ensuring that the Scriptures of the
Scientology religion are pure and true to
the Founder’s original writings;
• Establishing units to see to the
translation of millions of pages of the
Scientology Scriptures into 71 languages;
• Restoring Mr. Hubbard’s written works,
recorded lectures and films of his lectures;
• Providing the guidance for the
acquisition, construction and creation of
ideal Scientology organizations;
• Supplying the direction for the creation
of two state-of-the-art digital publishing
houses capable of producing 500,000
books and 925,000 CDs per week;
• Providing the vision for crafting,
refining and broadening core Scientology
social betterment programs in drug
education and rehabilitation, education,
criminal rehabilitation and human rights;
• Providing support and guidance to
the Volunteer Minister Program, the
largest independent relief force in the free
world, with more than 195,000 Volunteer
Ministers who traveled more than 174,000
miles this past year to help an estimated 1.5
million people;
• Personally seeing to the successful
outcome of critical external affairs issues,
including official recognitions of the
religion; and
• Planning, creating, producing and
presiding over nine annual globally
broadcast events that serve as briefings
for Scientologists on strategic programs,
campaigns, expansion, dissemination and
major breakthroughs.
David Miscavige works for—and
answers to—Scientology’s millions of
parishioners. He is unrelenting in serving
their interests and the interests of the
religion by implementing Mr. Hubbard’s
plans and strategies precisely, while
devoting every spare moment to the
restoration of Mr. Hubbard’s technology
and its dissemination to the public.
www.freedommag.org
Case in point: Mr. Miscavige’s extensive
work leading to the publication and release
of “The Basics.” The term refers to the
Scriptural materials that form the very
foundation of the religion of Scientology,
later writings and lectures building upon
the principles contained in The Basics. The
release of these materials was the culmination
of a research project to locate Mr. Hubbard’s
original manuscripts and dictation tapes of
these books, followed by verification and
correction of existing manuscripts to return
them to their original unadulterated form.
Then there were Mr. Hubbard’s lectures
from the same time period that corresponded
to and expanded upon the content of the
books. These lectures were originally
delivered to Scientologists in training at
the time and, although recorded, had never
been made broadly available due to a lack
of adequate reproduction facilities in the
Church’s formative years (1950-1956).
While these lectures had been
previously gathered up from around the
world and stored in archives, their mass
reproduction was hindered due to the poor
quality of the original recordings or, worse,
the deterioration of the master tapes over
the intervening years.
The project to restore these lectures
was extensive and only finally became
possible with advances in computer and
digital technology. Nevertheless, lecture
restoration required the Church to establish
the most elaborate sound restoration
studios on Earth.
Mr. Miscavige was intimately involved
with every aspect of this massive five-year
restoration project. He personally verified
all books and lectures, their content
and their sequence so Scientologists
can now study their religion in pure
form and chronologically. This project
alone represented thousands of hours
of Mr. Miscavige’s time in ensuring that
every word conformed precisely with
Mr. Hubbard’s original works by reading
and re-reading each manuscript and final
book as well as listening to all 2,500 of
Mr. Hubbard’s lectures.
In total, the replication and publication
of The Basics encompassed 18 books and
corresponding lecture series for each book,
totaling 280 lectures (reproduced on compact
disc). All materials—books and lectures—
were also made available in translated
editions for the 15 major languages of Earth.
Additionally, in 2009, the Beginning Books
of Dianetics and Scientology (nine books in
total) were translated into 50 languages and
released to the public.
The significance of this accomplishment
to Scientologists cannot be overstated.
Indeed, it represents not only the purity of
Mr. Hubbard’s teachings being available for
the first time, but also signals the fact that
the religion of Scientology will remain true
to its Founder’s actual words for all the years
to come. The distribution of these books
and lectures totals 60 million since July
2007. This alone has caused a renaissance
in the religion.
In addition to making these basic
Scriptural works available to Scientologists
through Churches and Missions, Mr.
Miscavige also launched a campaign to
make them freely available to anyone who
might want them—specifically, by making
copies available in all public, university and
governmental lending libraries of Earth.
The religion’s growth has
continued at a phenomenal
rate in this century under
Mr. Miscavige’s direction.
The overriding point: As Scientology’s
religious leader, Mr. Miscavige has devoted
himself to fulfilling the vision of Scientology
Founder L. Ron Hubbard—ensuring its
Scripture remains pure and accessible
to all. It is a unique task inasmuch as
Scientology is the only religion with all
original writings of its Founder intact. It is
also a uniquely universal religion inasmuch
as all faiths are free to share the works of
L. Ron Hubbard. Then too, and above
all else, it was Mr. Hubbard’s vision that
spiritual freedom goes hand-in-hand with
a belief in the brotherhood of Man. Hence,
Mr. Miscavige’s undying work to ensure
Scientology is extended to all Mankind.
It is David Miscavige’s far-reaching vision
and unrelenting dedication that have brought
the Church so far and so fast.
What you are about to read is the story
of Scientology the St. Petersburg Times
refused to tell.They could have accepted the
Church’s offer and investigated first-hand
the phenomenon that is Scientology and
seen the stark contrast between the story
their “sources” told and reality. But they
turned their backs on the facts and refused
to tell the true story of Scientology.
That story is told in the pages that follow.
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scientology | the fastest-growin
creating a new
David Miscavige: at the helm of
6
www.freedommag.org
ng religion in the 21st century
era of expansion
scientology’s explosive growth
“This Fort Harrison is and will always remain a landmark
and home for all of Clearwater.” —Mr. David Miscavige,
Chairman of the Board, Religious Technology Center
march 14, 2009
M
ore than 6,000 Scientologists from over 50 nations
filled the streets and sidewalks at the 200 block of
Fort Harrison Avenue to witness Chairman of the
Board Religious Technology Center, Mr. David
Miscavige, officiate at the ribbon cutting of the Clearwater
landmark—the new Fort Harrison.
“Her bones were good, her breeding impeccable
and her choice of residence couldn’t have been more
fitting: Clearwater, Florida,” began Mr. Miscavige as he
addressed the crowd. “When she originally opened in
1926, they called her ‘the aristocrat of southern Florida
hotels’ and described her as a ‘picturesque edifice’ known
all up and down the coast, as the toast of this city and an
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scientology | the fastest-growing religion in the 21st century
planned to
perfection
scientology mecca
enters final
construction
phase
Nowhere is the growth of the Scientology
religion more in evidence than its
headquarters in Clearwater, Florida.
What began with a single property now spans a complex
of some 40 buildings totaling upward of 2 million square
feet, all of it put in place to service the rapidly growing
numbers of Scientologists traveling to Flag for advanced
religious services.
That expansion has taken on whole new dimensions
in the last 18 months. First there was the opening of the
172,000-square-foot Oak Cove on January 1, 2008. Its
renovation provided both accommodations for visiting
ever-bustling hub of wedding receptions,
fashion shows, bridge teas and Rotary
Club functions.
“She additionally saw no inconsiderable
parade of luminaries. In the ’60s and ’70s
the Phillies used to stay here during spring
training and Duke Ellington, Count Basie
and Buddy Rich all performed in our
ballroom.”
Mr. Miscavige’s concluding remarks
8
Scientologists as well as space devoted to the delivery of
Flag religious services.
The subsequent grand opening of the new Fort
Harrison on March 14, 2009, marked the end of phase
two with the renovation and restoration of all 267,000
square feet.
And so began the final phase of construction on the
Flag Mecca building. Attached by an elevated footbridge
to the Fort Harrison, work is already well underway.
expressed both the spirit and significance
of the occasion:
“The bottom line is the same bottom line
for the last 80-plus years: this Fort Harrison
is and will always remain a landmark and
home for all of Clearwater.”
And with that, he cut the 2,000-footlong red ribbon and so ushered in a new
beginning for the “Grand Dame of the
West Gulf Coast.”
A Monumental Restoration Project
The grand opening of the new Fort
Harrison was the culmination of an
11-month, million-man-hour restoration
overseen every step of the way by Mr.
Miscavige. All 267,000 square feet of
the 83-year-old structure were stripped
down to bare beams and rebuilt from the
inside out.
www.freedommag.org
Final interior construction
of the Flag Mecca is
now underway. When
completed, the doors
will open on 377,000
square feet specifically
dedicated to the full Bridge
of Scientology religious
services—including 22
separate course rooms
seating 1,800 parishioners
at any one time, in addition
to over 300 Church
counseling rooms servicing
another 1,200 each day.
The top floors of the new
building are reserved for
“Super Power,” a series
of Scientology counseling
services offered at no other
Church in the world.
Visitors Welcome
While the Scientology Mecca will minister to Scientologists
on a large scale, its doors will also be open wide to anyone who
wishes to find out about Scientology. Visitors will be welcomed
at any time in the Mecca’s grand lobby where will reside a
comprehensive Public Information Center with multimedia
presentations laying out the fundamentals of the Scientology
religion, the Church’s worldwide humanitarian and social
betterment programs, and the life and legacy of the Founder
of the Scientology religion, Mr. L. Ron Hubbard.
The 21st century infrastructure eased into her 1920s framework,
with every one of the 200 guest rooms rebuilt from floor to
ceiling—not to mention energy-efficient, low-emission electrical
and mechanical systems throughout.
More than 350 local tradespeople worked on the project,
ultimately laying 100,000 square feet of carpet, installing 300,000
feet of plumbing and stringing a full 100 miles of electrical wire.
Restoration of the building’s hallmark features began in
the elegant Grand Lobby, from the original wrought-iron
and brass balustrades to the signature checkerboard marble
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9523
by the
numbers
Scientologists
in the local
community
Since the Church moved its spiritual
headquarters to Clearwater in 1976,
Scientologists have become an integral part of
the community. Not only do they travel from
all over the world for extended stays while
participating in religious services, many Church
members and families have made Clearwater
their home. The presence of the Church
generates thousands of jobs, boosting the
economy and revitalizing the area. Independent
studies on the overall economic impact of the
Church found its presence had a decisively
positive effect. At the end of the 1990s, the
Church and its members accounted for 5.4
percent of the area’s sales, 10.7 percent of its
employment and 3.4 percent of area income.
While direct spending by Scientologists totaled
almost $100 million, the Church’s greater impact
on the Clearwater economy was estimated
at almost half a billion dollars which, in turn,
generated more than 5,000 jobs. The studies
reported that without the Church’s stabilizing
presence, the entire city would be far less
viable economically. Today, 10 years later, the
economic influence of Scientologists in the
community is commensurately higher.
z 9,523 Scientologists live in the
Tampa Bay area.
z There are 22 Church of Scientology facilities
in downtown Clearwater.
z The Church is the largest property taxpayer
in downtown Clearwater, paying nearly
$1 million in property taxes last year.
z 1,500 Church staff provide religious
services at the Scientology facilities
in downtown Clearwater.
z 8.2 percent of Clearwater’s
population are Scientologists.
9
The Fort Harrison Grand Lobby, long the crossroads for the Clearwater community, is now fully
restored with an elegance that far exceeds her opening day in 1926. The Crystal Ballroom that in
earlier decades hosted the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie now stands fully restored to its
original gold-leaf splendor. The Flag Auditorium is the site for international Scientology events and
seminars, as well as benefits hosted by nonprofit community groups.
floor and gold-leafed Corinthian
columns. And high atop the Fort
Harrison, the legendary Crystal
Ballroom also underwent complete
restoration—taking it, too, well
beyond its original beauty.
Community Hub
The Fort Harrison has served as
a hub for this community since the
1920s and continues to serve so today.
In addition to the Scientologists
who avail themselves of the
accommodations, restaurants and
amenities while staying in Clearwater
for religious services, the community
at large enjoys the Fort Harrison as
well. Since grand opening, hundreds
from across Tampa Bay have
gathered for Open House brunches
and community events, such as the
Sunscreen Film Festival Broadway
and Beyond Concert, benefiting local
artists. Couple that with the dozen or
more who simply walk in every day
for a tour—and it is clear the Fort
Harrison is, as it has always been, a
home for Clearwater.
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oak cove
grand
opening
The Oak Cove, rising 13 stories
above Clearwater Bay, stands
one block from the Fort Harrison.
It was dedicated January 1, 2008,
at a grand opening attended by
3,500 Scientologists and friends
from the community. Fully
renovated from top to bottom,
the 172,000-square-foot facility
provides religious services in
14 languages to Scientologists
from dozens of nations. The
Oak Cove opening represented
completion of the first of three
major building projects in the
ongoing expansion program
of the Church in Clearwater.
Restoration of the Fort Harrison
was followed by the beginning
of final construction of the
Flag Mecca.
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the OT summit
June 20-28, 2009
Charting the Course for Scientology Expansion
E
ach year in June, top Scientologists from around the Scientologists from more than 8,000 Churches, Missions and
world assemble aboard the Sea Org Motor Vessel groups world over.
This year’s Summit marked the announcement and release
Freewinds religious retreat for the “OT Summit.” It
comprises a week of briefings, seminars and strategic of historic advances for the Scientology religion.
planning sessions presided over by Chairman of the
Lectures from the Dawn of Scientology
Board Religious Technology Center, Mr. David Miscavige.
Mr. Miscavige released a recovered and restored body of
In this way, Mr. Miscavige keeps parishioners fully abreast
of Church accomplishments, current planning and goals for Scripture, the 1954-55 Golden Dawn: Phoenix Evening Lectures,
the coming year and beyond. He provides them with the L. Ron Hubbard’s first broad public lectures on Scientology.
“big picture” of Scientology expansion and the future of the Lost from sight for 55 years, it was only through Mr. Miscavige’s
religion, including their part in the acquisition, renovation research as part of the “Golden Age of Knowledge” that all of
and staffing of new Churches, the utilization of new training The Golden Dawn lectures and materials are now available as a
full program including 26 CDs in 15 languages.
courses and restored L. Ron Hubbard scriptural
materials. He further provides updates on
This year’s Summit
“The Single Most Momentous Advance”
Church humanitarian and social betterment
marked the
In his second presentation of the week,
initiatives, including drug education, human
announcement and
Mr. Miscavige announced “the single most
rights, volunteer disaster relief, literacy and
release of historic
momentous advance in Book One technology
education.
advances for the
since May 9, 1950.” It was a project he personally
To make the proceedings widely available, each
Scientology religion.
drove for the better part of four years, and it
event is recorded and subsequently broadcast to
www.freedommag.org
11
The 2009 OT Summit will always be remembered for Mr. David Miscavige’s release of a new Dianetics “on-ramp” to the Bridge. The culmination
of a four-year project to make Dianetics universally accessible, these materials include 32 new instructional films in 15 languages.
culminated in the release of materials that will now make
Dianetics universally accessible.
Central to the advance, and also under Mr. Miscavige’s
direction, were 32 new films in 15 languages—four and a half
hours of visual instruction in the procedures of Dianetics.
Global Salvage Campaigns
Mr. Miscavige additionally presented
an extensive briefing on the International
Association of Scientologists and its support
of the Church’s global campaigns. These
campaigns provide assistance to millions
and now include a host of new audiovisual
education aids to reach many millions more.
[See The Church of Scientology’s Planetary Social Betterment
Campaigns, p. 39.]
Continental Advanced Organizations
Capping the week, Mr. Miscavige presented the future
homes of new Scientology Advanced Organizations in
Canada and Latin America. These will join existing Advanced
Organizations in the US, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia,
and recently acquired facilities in South Africa.
When the new facilities are completed, on every
“The single most
continent will stand an Advanced Organization
momentous advance
to serve their churches and parishioners. [See
in Book One technology
since May 9, 1950.”
Advanced Organizations: The Global Stepping
Stones to the Mecca, p. 28.]
The Sea Org Motor Vessel
Freewinds
Scientology’s Advanced Religious Retreat
T
12
HE FREEWINDS SERVES AS THE
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY’S
ADVANCED RELIGIOUS RETREAT.
The 440-foot motor vessel
provides a distraction-free
environment for parishioners
to study and experience
the highest level of spiritual
counseling available in the
Scientology religion.
In 2008, to celebrate her
20th anniversary, the Freewinds
underwent the largest refit in her history. Far more
than a cosmetic upgrade, the ship was stripped
from stem to stern, below the water line to the
top of her stacks, covering all six decks. She is
a brand-new, fully redesigned, technologically
advanced, cutting-edge vessel serving as a
religious retreat for ministering religious services
at the highest levels of Scientology.
It is aboard
the Freewinds
Scientologists
from six continents
avail themselves of
Scientology’s most
advanced religious
services.
meeting the
global
demand
for the
scientology
religion
OPENING A NEW BREED OF CHURCH IN MAJOR CITIES,
SCIENTOLOGY HAS DOUBLED ITS SIZE IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
“You are creating an island of friendliness, decency and succor in the sea of a violent world.…
Sometime in the future the islands will become the sea.” — L. Ron Hubbard
T
o meet the skyrocketing demand for Dianetics and Scientology
throughout the world, and utilizing the technological advances
of the 21st century, in 2004 Chairman of the Board Religious
Technology Center, Mr. David Miscavige, launched the Ideal Org
strategy to transform all Scientology churches into Ideal Churches of
Scientology.
It was the goal L. Ron Hubbard had set for Scientologists—to one
day create Churches that were a physical embodiment of the policy
and technology he had provided to help all beings attain spiritual
freedom.
An Ideal Org (for “organization”) is a Church configured to provide
the full services of the Scientology religion to its parishioners and to
the community.
“Ideal” status encompasses both the physical facilities and the
quantity and quality of the service to its parishioners and community.
Such Churches house extensive public information multimedia
www.freedommag.org
displays describing all aspects of Dianetics and Scientology and its
Founder, L. Ron Hubbard, as well as the Church’s social betterment
and community outreach programs.
Religious services are provided in efficient and aesthetic course
rooms and spiritual counseling rooms. There are also libraries,
bookstores, film and seminar rooms as well as an expansive Chapel
for Sunday Services, weddings, naming ceremonies and other
congregational gatherings.
Since 2004, more than a dozen Ideal Churches have arisen,
including those in such cultural centers as Madrid, New York, London
and Berlin.
Just since April 2009, three more opened—first in Malmö,
Sweden; then Dallas, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee. As of
this writing, 70 more buildings have been acquired and stand
in various stages of design and construction. And so it is, Ideal
Churches of Scientology will soon literally encompass the world.
13
malmÖ
saturday, april 4, 2009
malmÖ, sweden
J
northern
the knowledge
center of
europe
14
ust two weeks after presiding over
the opening of the fully restored
Fort Harrison retreat in Clearwater,
Florida, Mr. Miscavige traveled
more than 5,000 miles to formally
open the new European Church
of Scientology in the Swedish
seacoast city of Malmö.Those in attendance
hailed from 32 nations, including Britain,
Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, Israel,
Iraq and Uganda. They gathered to
celebrate a historic day: dedication of the
72,000-square-foot landmark Church of
Scientology, acquired, designed, renovated
and opened in less than six months.
Among those present to honor the occasion
were European dignitaries including Dr. Iva
Parizkova Ryggestahl, Human Rights Activist
and Vice-Deputy in the Swedish Parliament;
Dr. Adly Abu Hajar, Director General of
the European Islamic Conference, a group
of Muslim leaders of 33 nations; Dr. Gunnar
Bramstång, Distinguished Professor of Law,
Dean of the Lund Law faculty and author
of groundbreaking human rights legislation;
and Dr. Bertil Persson, renowned educator,
Professor of Religion, and Permanent
Representative at the UNESCO University
for Peace.
The day was further distinguished by
Mr. Miscavige dedicating this new Church
in the name of a better tomorrow:
www.freedommag.org
Mr. David
Miscavige, joined
by the Executive
Director of the
Malmö Church
and honored guest
speakers, pulls the
ribbon to officially
open the doors on
the new Church.
religious leaders
and government
officials
welcome
new church
in sweden
z Dr. Iva Ryggeståhl,
Human Rights attorney and
Parliament Vice-Deputy: “What
you bring to this region is
important and needed. There is
nothing we cannot accomplish
together. Let this Church be a
reminder to us always of a new
beginning and of the inspiration it brings.”
z Dr. Adly Abu Hajar, President
Scandinavia Muslim Academic
Council, Director General
European Islamic Conference:
“God decided I had to meet you
and I am grateful for that. I see
a hope in the future, for Sweden
to take a big step toward
understanding and trust, and in the name
of God, peace for all.”
z Dr. Gunnar Bramstång,
Guests from 32 nations attended the grand opening of the new Church
of Scientology in Malmö. They subsequently toured the building,
including the Public Information Center with its 15 interactive exhibits
on Scientology beliefs and practices, the life of Founder L. Ron Hubbard,
and social betterment programs of the Church. The Chapel is used for
Sunday Services, weddings and all other Scientology ceremonies, as
well as seminars and local community events.
“Our ability to uplift generations with Study
Technology, our ability to eradicate drug abuse
and awaken populations to the inherent moral
decency within them—all this is now possible
on a previously unimaginable scale.
“So, yes, today is truly just a beginning
and, forever after, let us mark this day for
freedom, for Sweden, and for all eternity.”
Mr. Miscavige, joined by the other honored
guests, then cut the ribbon, officially marking a new
era for Scientology in Sweden.
www.freedommag.org
Distinguished Professor of Law:
“In the course of 30 years, I
have watched with my own
eyes how you save one life after
another through the methods
of L. Ron Hubbard. Your
contributions to Swedish society
cannot be measured.”
z Dr. Bertil Persson, Professor
of Religion and Scandinavia’s
Permanent Representative at
the UNESCO University for
Peace: “With the opening of
this Church, we are really at
a turning point. The future
activities based on Scientology
are, in fact, predestined for great success
for humanity.”
15
dallas
new church
in the
lone star
state
irving, texas
T
he Church of Scientology
Dallas, located in Irving at
the heart of the Dallas-Fort
Worth Metroplex, opened its
doors just one week after the
ribbon fell in Malmö. Again,
Mr. Miscavige’s presence
underscored the import of the day.
The Church was formally welcomed to
the city of Irving by Mayor Herbert Gears.
Next up to the podium was Ms. Teddie
Story, Executive Director of a nonprofit
social services agency, Irving Cares. She was
followed by the Rev. James McLaughlin,
chairman of the National Congress of the
Interfaith Alliance on Addiction. And
finally, Ms. Shirley Dobson presented
an official welcoming proclamation to
the Church on behalf of the Texas State
House of Representatives.
Whereupon Mr. Miscavige took the
stage to place the day in a still greater
historical context:
“The fact is that all we have accomplished
in our formative years was the dream
that we could one day expand to such
a degree that our organizations would
rise to the level of the technology itself,
that they would embody what appears in
L. Ron Hubbard’s technology and policy.
Well, that goal is now within our reach.
The momentum is building for a future
more glorious than ever imagined.
16
Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center, officiates the grand
opening of the Church of Scientology Dallas.
“And while Texas is known for expansive dreams
and a spirit of independence, let her now fulfill those
dreams with total spiritual freedom. And so it is
today we give her the gift of our new Church, which
we offer as her home and by which we extend the gift
of immortality.”
And as the ribbon came down, Scientologists
and friends, old and new, entered the new home of
Scientology in Texas.
www.freedommag.org
texas house of
representatives
commemorates
new dallas
church
A resolution from
the Texas House of
Representatives, presented
on behalf of State Rep.
Linda Harper-Brown by
her personal ambassador
Ms. Shirley Dobson,
welcomed the Church: “Be
it resolved that the House
of Representatives of the
81st Texas Legislature hereby commemorates
the grand opening of the new home of the Church
of Scientology Dallas, congratulates its staff and
parishioners on the outstanding achievement in
building this new church, and extends sincere best
wishes for the future.”
Scientologists fill the new course rooms in the Dallas Church,
studying L. Ron Hubbard’s books and lectures.
The Public Information Center is open seven days a week to welcome visitors who wish to learn more
about Dianetics and Scientology. A self-guided tour through the interactive multimedia displays provides the
answers to commonly asked questions about Scientology beliefs, the life of Founder L. Ron Hubbard, and
Church activities in the community. At right, young people watch the Church’s The Truth About Drugs films.
www.freedommag.org
17
nashville
new
church in
music
city, usa
18
nashville, tennessee
H
aving traveled 20,000 miles
since the opening of the Fort
Harrison in mid March,
Mr. Miscavige once again
officiated the ribbon cutting of
yet another new Church, this
one in Nashville, Tennessee—
Music City, USA.
The opening of the new Church
of Scientology and Celebrity Centre
Nashville, just one mile from “Music
Row,” drew Scientologists from across the
region. Also on hand were scores of local
dignitaries, residents and Hollywood
celebrities. Among those who addressed
the gathering were Grammy-winning
composer and musician Mark Isham
and actresses Anne Archer and Jenna
Elfman.
Then again, speaking to the broader
significance of a Church of Scientology
in the heart of Music City, Mr. Miscavige
dedicated the new Church:
“The new Ideal Org and Celebrity
Centre signals great things for tomorrow.
And when you couple that with our ability
to recover to individuals their inherent
creativity, our ability to reawaken dreams
and restore the power to achieve those
dreams, yes, we can now make good on
what L. Ron Hubbard tells us regarding
the artist as creating the beauty and glory
on which cultures depend.
“And that’s both what this new Church
represents and why we have come to
Nashville. For while Nashville is known
as the heart and soul of American music,
let her now fulfill her destiny and write a
song that will uplift every man.”
With that, the ribbon was cut and the
new Church in Music City, USA, opened
to all to begin writing that new song.
www.freedommag.org
celebrities and
leaders from
the music industry
welcome
new church
in nashville
On opening day in Nashville, more
than 3,000 Scientologists and guests
toured the new Church of Scientology
and Celebrity Centre, just a mile from
“Music Row.” The following weekend,
hundreds gathered in the Nashville
Chapel for Sunday Services.
z Mr. Dan Maddox, Nashville
native son. “We’re in a city already
rich in monuments. We now have
an ideal monument to Scientology
as part of the Nashville legacy and
it will forever contribute to making
this great city what it is—and what
it can be.”
z Mr. Kurt Listug, Co‑founder and
CEO Taylor Guitars: “Walk on
over to Chestnut and 8th (Nashville
Church) and there you’ll discover
the endless source of all the new
songs you’ve ever dreamed of.”
z Mr. Mark Isham,
Grammy‑winning musician:
“Scientology has helped me
in every aspect of my life, in
everything I do, and I know
it can help you.”
z Ms. Anne Archer, Actress:
“It is possible for the artist within
each one of us to find his own
true expression and flourish and
prosper. And that is what this
Church is all about.”
z Ms. Jenna Elfman, Actress:
Church executives and special guests join Mr. David Miscavige in
pulling the ribbon to officially open the doors of the Nashville Church of
Scientology and Celebrity Centre.
www.freedommag.org
“Songs are a communication from the
heart and with the aid of Scientology,
the pleasure and the joy one can
experience in the creative process is
immeasurable. Nashville is a very
inspiring city. Scientology is very
inspiring. They go great together.”
19
Among those joining Mr. Miscavige on the
stage to welcome the new Church in London
and cut the ribbon were a London Police Chief
Superintendent, City of London Alderman and
a United Nations representative.
london
new church in
the center of the
englishspeaking
world
20
sunday, october 22, 2006
london, england
T
he United Kingdom’s Church
of Scientology stands on
Queen Victoria Street in the
cultural epicenter of London.
Its October 2006 opening drew
better than 3,000 Scientologists,
London citizens and dignitaries
from all over Europe, Africa and the
Middle East. Those on hand to expressly
welcome the Church included human
rights and civic leaders, a Police Chief
Superintendent and a London City
Alderman—all of whom had partnered
with Scientologists in one capacity
or another. But what amounts to the
definitive statement of what this London
Church of Scientology represented were
these words from Chairman of the Board,
Mr. David Miscavige:
“No one goes free until everyone goes
free. Because anyone’s suffering can pin
you down—especially as one draws ever
closer to realizing the basic goodness,
The grand lobby of the new Church of Scientology
London and the Public Information Center
where visitors are always welcome.
greatness and caring inherent in every
immortal spiritual being.
“So you ask what you can do with a
Central Church of Scientology such as
this one? Well, I invite you to wait till that
ribbon comes down, then step inside and
take a good, hard look for yourselves.
“And as you do so, I want you to
remember what LRH himself wrote in
the wake of forming the first Scientology
Organization in this city—and I quote:
‘Our goal, with what we have, cannot be
less than our knowledge demands.’”
Thus now stands an Ideal Church of
Scientology at the heart of the Englishspeaking world.
berlin
new church in
germany’s
capital city
saturday, january 13, 2007
berlin, germany
S
cientologists and guests from
31 nations gathered to unveil
the new Church of Scientology
of Berlin. A recognized
architectural landmark at the
corner of Otto Suhr Allee
and Cauer Street in the
famed Charlottenburg District, this
six-story Bauhaus building is now a
cornerstone for religious freedom. For
here stands a Church of Scientology to
underscore the fact that Scientologists
will forever flourish and prosper over
religious oppression. In testament to
exactly that, a foremost religious scholar
and a renowned proponent of religious
rights addressed the crowd of 5,000 to
proclaim a new day for freedom in this
former seat of intolerance.
Thousands of Scientologists and guests from the United Nations, United
States Embassy and European news organizations attended the historic opening
of the Berlin Church’s new six-story home near the Federal Parliament and
Brandenburg Gate.
The Chapel is the setting for Sunday Services, weddings, naming
ceremonies, ordinations and graduations. The Public Information
Center offers visitors a self-guided tour to find out about
Scientology for themselves.
www.freedommag.org
21
new york
new church
in the
big apple
sunday, september 26, 2004
new york, USA
T
he Ideal Church of Scientology
in New York City was a gift from
the International Association
of Scientologists to the people
of New York in recognition of
their courage and spirit in the
face of the 2001 World Trade
Center disaster.
Mr. David Miscavige, whose vision
and personal dedication had set in motion
this new Church, now opened its doors
22
Representatives from the United Nations and the Times Square Alliance, as well as a US
Congressman, joined 10,000 Scientologists and their guests to commemorate the opening of New
York’s Church of Scientology, just off Times Square.
to the 10,000 Scientologists and guests in
attendance just off Times Square:
“This is more than just a home for
you, the Scientologists of New York. It is
also a home for the broader community
where all men and women of goodwill are
welcome, and who we dedicate ourselves
to helping, each and every one. And by
demonstrating, in action, the conviction
of our beliefs, the future knows no
bounds. For this is New York, and to help
her is to help the world. We know there is
hope. And because we can help, working
together we will make a difference.”
The reception of the Church
of Scientology New York.
www.freedommag.org
MADRID
the national
church
of spain
saturday, september 18, 2004
madrid, spain
I
n September 2004, the National Church
of Scientology opened in the heart
of Madrid, with 6,000 assembling to
celebrate the new Church. Once the
seat of religious suppression, Spain now
welcomed Scientology to the nation,
with dignitaries from religion, law and
human rights all proclaiming Scientology as
the hope for their country.
The paramount moment came when Mr.
David Miscavige welcomed the thousands
in attendance to their new Church—a
Church that he had conceived and brought
into existence, and that would ultimately
directly result in full religious recognition
for Scientology in Spain:
“Spain, and its people, held a very dear
place in the heart of L. Ron Hubbard.
“Yet beyond all of that there is, of course,
all else this day means to not only our
Spanish members, but to Scientologists the
world over.
“For if Spain was a land where our
Founder lit a torch for freedom, it is also a
land where you kept that torch alive.
“Through the darkest days, overcoming
insurmountable obstacles against overwhelming odds, you demonstrated in action
the essence of these words of our Founder:
‘The old must give way to the new,
falsehood must become exposed by truth,
and truth, though fought, always in the end
prevails.’
www.freedommag.org
More than 6,000 gathered in Madrid’s Neighborhood of Letters as Mr. David Miscavige dedicated
Spain’s National Church of Scientology and welcomed Spanish Scientologists to their new Church.
“So with deepest gratitude, on behalf of
Scientologists from every corner of the globe,
this day we celebrate what your dedication,
integrity and persistence of ideals will now
mean to citizens of Spain.”
And with that, the ribbon was cut and
thousands entered the new National Church
of Scientology of Spain.
After a battle lasting decades, in a
landmark decision on October 31, 2007,
the Spanish National Court ruled in the
Church’s favor, granting the National
Church of Scientology of Spain full
religious recognition and affirming the right
to religious freedom. Additionally, the court
mandated the National Church be entered
in the Registry of Religious Organizations.
A restored historic building, Spain’s National
Church reflects the architectural traditions
23
of Spanish culture.
islands of
friendliness
ideal orgs
around
the world
NO MATTER THE CITY OR
THE COUNTRY, Ideal Org
openings draw thousands
of Scientologists and a
broad spectrum of guests
from civic, religious and
governmental circles.
All Ideal Orgs,
including those on
these pages, reflect the
diversity of Scientology:
Johannesburg, South
Africa; Tampa, Florida; Los
Gatos, San Francisco and
Stevens Creek, California;
and Buffalo, New York.
Moreover, all Churches
appearing on this page
were opened in just the last
five years.
johannesburg
tampa
24
www.freedommag.org
buffalo
los gatos
san francisco
stevens creek
www.freedommag.org
25
building for
the future
of the
scientology
religion
Mr. Miscavige is the driving force of a moVEMent now
spanning this world with ideal Churches of Scientology.
T
o exactly that end, he sets the direction for the acquisition,
design and planning of new Churches—quite literally
from inception to ribbon cutting. In consequence, the
horizons of Scientology are filled with scores of new Churches
in the making for 2009 and beyond.
Just since the launch of the Ideal Churches program five
years ago, 70 new buildings have been acquired in major
population centers around the world. Church premises have
26
increased from 5.6 million square feet in 2004 to over
11 million in 2009, with half a million square feet of
renovations completed in 2009.
Meanwhile, another half-million square feet are under
construction in Brussels, Rome, Tel Aviv, Quebec, Mexico
City, Las Vegas and Washington, DC. These are the Ideal
Churches of Scientology and they are designed to present
the wisdom of Scientology to many millions planet wide.
www.freedommag.org
manchester
NEW IDEAL ORG BUILDINGS
Shown here is just a sampling of newly acquired Church buildings,
while the listing below includes all new properties now in planning or
construction stage to open within the next 12 months.
sunderland
brussels
auckland
atlanta
UNITED STATES
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Atlanta, Georgia
Battle Creek, Michigan
Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago, Illinois
Cincinnati, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Detroit, Michigan
Harlem, New York
Inglewood, California
Kansas City, Missouri
Las Vegas, Nevada
New Haven, Connecticut
Orange County, California
Pasadena, California
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Portland, Oregon
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
San Fernando Valley, California
St. Louis, Missouri
Seattle, Washington
Twin Cities, Minnesota
Washington, DC
AFRICA
Cape Town, South Africa
Durban, South Africa
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimbabwe
rome
CANADA
Kitchener, Ontario
Montreal, Quebec
Quebec City, Quebec
Winnipeg, Manitoba
LATIN AMERICA
Bogotá, Colombia
Caracas, Venezuela
Valencia, Venezuela
Las Lomas, Mexico
Mexico City, DF
EUROPE
Brussels, Belgium
Budapest, Hungary
Copenhagen, Denmark
Milan, Italy
Padova, Italy
Pordenone, Italy
Rome, Italy
Tel Aviv, Israel
Torino, Italy
Verona, Italy
winnipeg
pretoria
UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham
Manchester
Sunderland
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/ASIA
Auckland, New Zealand
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Melbourne, Australia
st. louis
melbourne
27
www.freedommag.org
tel aviv
boston
washington, dc
advanced
organizations
the global
stepping
stones to
the mecca
To dramatically speed progress of parishioners
up the Scientology Bridge to the Mecca in
Clearwater, Mr. Miscavige has inaugurated a program
to establish Advanced Organizations in every continent.
As the title implies, these organizations open wide the
gateway to the highest Scientology levels. As Advanced
Organizations already stand in the United States, Europe,
United Kingdom and Australia, Mr. Miscavige directed the
acquisition and construction of new advanced facilities for
all other continental zones.
As but another indication of the Church’s meteoric
growth: In the previous five decades there had been
four Advanced Organizations; while in just the last
eighteen months, there now stand three more Advanced
Organizations in the making. Thus, here is what will soon
complete Scientology’s global staircase to eternity.
Advanced Organization
AFRICA
Acquired in 2008, the many-turreted
Kyalami Castle is the future home of the
Advanced Organization in Africa. It is set on 22 acres
between Johannesburg and Pretoria and locally known
as the “Place in Heaven.” The facility is ideally suited
to provide advanced Scientology religious services,
with perfectly appointed rooms for study and spiritual
counseling and a great hall to accommodate more than
1,000 at Scientology events and seminars. It also features
guest rooms and restaurants which will ultimately provide
the ideal setting for African Scientologists to ascend the
Scientology Bridge to spiritual freedom.
Advanced
Organization
Canada
Announced in June 2009,
the Church acquired an idyllic property
less than 30 minutes from the Toronto
airport. Here will stand the Advanced
Organization for Canadian parishioners
and Canada’s Continental Liaison Office
to coordinate Scientology expansion and
social betterment programs. Formerly
an inn and conference center, the facility
consists of five separate buildings totalling
159,400 square feet on 190 acres.
28
The new Advanced Organization for Canada
will provide religious services to Canadian
Scientologists in a rustic setting just outside
Toronto.
www.freedommag.org
Kyalami Castle, sitting between Johannesburg and Pretoria on old Zulu lands known as the
“Place in Heaven,” will be home to the new Advanced Organization in Africa.
Advanced
Organization
LATIN
AMERICA
ALSO announced in June
2009 is the newly acquired Palmas Plaza
in Las Lomas, an area of Mexico City. The
property comprises 254,000 square feet and
will house not only the Advanced Org but
also the Continental Liaison Office for
Latin America. With seven Churches in
Mexico, as well as Churches and Missions
throughout South and Central America, this
Advanced Org will serve the growing needs
of 21 countries. The facility will additionally
provide accommodations for parishioners—a
necessity for out-of-town Scientologists
participating in Advanced Organization
services.
www.freedommag.org
The new Advanced
Organization of Latin
America will serve 21
nations from its new
home on a summit
overlooking Las Lomas
in Mexico City.
29
scientology | the fastest-growing
a renaissance fo
david miscavige recovers original l. ron hubbard scriptures and
Scientology’s Golden Age Of Knowledge
W
hat is now known throughout the world
of Scientology as the “Golden Age of
Knowledge” was inaugurated by Chairman
of the Board Religious Technology Center
(RTC), Mr. David Miscavige, in March 2005. It is the single
most embracive RTC program in history and reflects literally
hundreds of thousands of hours of scriptural verification and
restoration.
30
It follows from the fact that the knowledge of Dianetics and
Scientology forms a chronological path of L.Ron Hubbard’s research
into the mind, spirit and life culminating in the development of the
Scientology Bridge. But as only a portion of those materials were
previously available, there remained no way for Scientologists to
gain a complete understanding of the full wisdom that comprised
Mr. Hubbard’s religious legacy. To provide just that, Mr. Hubbard
had long envisioned the day when his written and spoken materials
could be made broadly available to all Scientologists.
www.freedommag.org
religion in the 21st century
for scientologY
embarks on the most expansive publishing program in history
Release of The Basics—June 30, 2007
That is what originally heralded the Golden Age of Knowledge,
and that is what Mr. Miscavige announced with these words:
“So there you have the landmarks by which you can travel the
L. Ron Hubbard track of research.”
Released under a Golden Age of Knowledge banner, and to
precisely that end, came the complete body of L. Ron Hubbard
Congresses. Here were Mr. Hubbard’s broad public forums wherein he
announced the milestone discoveries of Dianetics and Scientology. In
all, the Congresses comprise landmark L. Ron Hubbard lectures—
www.freedommag.org
and they had never before been made broadly available. Then again,
like all else that would come to light within this Golden Age of
Knowledge, these lectures were translated in 15 languages, thereby
making Scientology accessible to half the world’s population.
It was likewise in the name of a new Golden Age of Knowledge
that Mr. Miscavige oversaw and directed the restoration of all
basic L. Ron Hubbard books and lectures—universally known
throughout Scientology as “The Basics” for the fact they represent
the very foundation of the religion itself. The lectures had never
31
2006
Two Guinness World Records awarded to
L. Ron Hubbard: Most Published Author (1,084 titles)
and Most Translated Author (71 languages).
s
s
2005
196 L. Ron Hubbard lectures released in
15 languages (2,940) simultaneously across the
world—largest single audio release in history.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
The Milestones of Scientology
International Congress
of Dianeticists and
Scientologists
Universe Processes Congress
Anatomy of the Spirit
of Man Congress
Games Congress
London Congress
on Human Problems
Washington Congress on
Anti-Radiation & Confront
London Congress on Nuclear
Radiation, Control & Health
Freedom Congress
Ability Congress
Clearing Congress (on DVD)
State of Man Congress
London Congress
on Dissemination & Help
Anatomy of the Human
Mind Congress
London Clearing Congress
South African Anatomy
Congress
Success Congress
Clean Hands Congress
Theta Clear Congress
Clearing Success Congress
Melbourne Congress
Sample: Original frame
The L. Ron Hubbard Congress Lectures
Sample: Frame after restoration
The ClearING
Congress
films, fully
digitally
restored and
released on
DVD. These
comprise
the only L. Ron
Hubbard filmed
lectures series.
The release of
L. Ron Hubbard’s
Congress lectures,
the first phase of
Scientology’s Golden
Age of Knowledge,
contained 155 original
lectures. The Materials
Guide Chart of Dianetics
and Scientology directs
Scientologists on their
personal route
to knowledge.
been broadly accessible since their original recording 50 years
earlier. All of that changed in June 2007 when Mr. Miscavige
announced their full digital restoration and release on compact
disc—again, in 15 languages.
In the last two years alone, more than 60 million copies
of The Basics have been placed into the hands of people
world over.
BASIC BOOKS AND LECTURES
“The world of Scientology has changed forever.”
C
learwater, Florida. June 30, 2007—Mr. David Miscavige
stood before Scientologists gathered from around the
world for the much-heralded occasion. He announced
that what he was about to describe was nothing less
than “the recovery of Dianetics and Scientology” that would “change
the world of Scientology forever.” Over the next several hours, he
unfolded the complete story to an audience of thousands gathered in
Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall.
32
Mr. Miscavige first described the five-year, 2-million-man-hour
research project to ensure the purity of all Scientology Scriptures,
found in the writings and recorded lectures of L. Ron Hubbard.
The task had been to locate the original manuscripts and dictation
tapes of Mr. Hubbard’s books, verify existing texts against those
originals, correct any errors or deviations and return them to their
original unadulterated form.
Deviations from the original manuscripts were immediately
discovered to be far more extensive than imagined: transcription
and punctuation errors of every variety, chapters bound in
wrong sequence or even in the middle of another chapter, and
the handiwork of a publisher who removed paragraph breaks to
reduce page count. “Now let’s add the ‘editor,’” Mr. Miscavige
explained, “who, instead of now correcting it, decides to add his
own ‘clarifying’ footnotes to explain what LRH really meant.”
Mr. Miscavige recounted a notable instance of the project to recover
the technology. When the page count of a book did not match up to
the number of dictation recordings to hand, researchers again searched
www.freedommag.org
2008
14,211 hours of translated
L. Ron Hubbard lectures
recorded since 2005.
s
s
2007
1.8 million pages of L. Ron Hubbard’s
writings translated since 2004. Total for prior
50 years 359,459 pages translated.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Basic Books and Lectures: The Recovery of Dianetics and Scientology
Dianetics: The Original Thesis
Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
and Dianetics Lectures and Demonstrations
Science of Survival
and Science of Survival Lectures
Advanced Procedure and Axioms
and Thought, Emotion and Effort Lectures
Scientology: A History of Man
and Technique 88 Lectures
Scientology 8-8008
and Philadelphia Doctorate Course Lectures
and The Factors Lectures
The Creation of Human Ability
and Phoenix Lectures
Self Analysis
Handbook for Preclears
and Life Continuum Lectures
Scientology 8-80
and Source of Life Energy Lectures
Dianetics 55!
and Unification Congress Lectures
Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought
and Hubbard Professional Course Lectures
The Problems of Work: Scientology Applied
to the Workaday World
The Beginning Books and Audiobooks
of Dianetics and Scientology
Dianetics: The Original Thesis
Dianetics: The Evolution
of a Science
Scientology: The Fundamentals
of Thought
Dianetics: The Modern Science
of Mental Health
The Problems of Work:
Scientology Applied to the
Workaday World
Self Analysis
Scientology: A New Slant on Life
Handbook for Preclears
The Way to Happiness
through the archives and found three long-ignored wax dictation
disks marked “UNK” for “Unknown.” Locating equally long-obsolete
replay equipment, they found the recordings were nothing less than
two additional chapters of Mr. Hubbard’s 1948 manuscript for
Dianetics: The Original Thesis. The dictation also showed that other
chapters had been printed in the wrong sequence since first published.
The entire manuscript was then corrected and completed, and today
the first and most basic statement on the actual nature and function
of the mind is accessible and available for all to read.
In the ensuing years, every word and line in every L. Ron Hubbard
book was researched, verified, removed or corrected to ensure
absolute purity. The standard set by Mr. Miscavige was perfection,
the only standard suitable for the works of Mr. Hubbard.
Following that prodigious editorial undertaking, each book was
meticulously designed, typeset, printed and bound to achieve the
highest level of readability, comprehension, quality and durability—not
to mention sheer aesthetic beauty. Thus came into existence only the
pure and perfect Scientology Scriptures as authored by Mr. Hubbard.
www.freedommag.org
The Basic Books and Lectures
of Dianetics and Scientology, the
foundation of the Scientology religion,
were released after a five-year project
to restore them to L. Ron Hubbard’s
original written and spoken words.
Released in 15 languages.
The Church’s two All-Digital
PRINT-ON-DEMAND publishing
houses established to meet
the global demand for L. Ron
Hubbard’s books and lectures.
Capable of producing 500,000
books and 925,000 CDs per week.
Restoring L. Ron Hubbard Lectures
Restoring Mr. Hubbard’s lectures from the period was the
other phase of the project. In the 1950s, he delivered hundreds
of lectures to Dianeticists and Scientologists, each expanding on
some aspect of the corresponding book. Although recorded, many
of these lectures had never been broadly available due to lack of
reproduction facilities in the Church’s formative years. An earlier
project had scoured the cities where the lectures were delivered—
Los Angeles, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Wichita, London, Melbourne,
Johannesburg—and rounded up all known original recordings. But
mass reproduction was still hindered by the poor quality of many
of the originals or by their deterioration over the years. Factually,
despite various restoration attempts through the years, many of the
lectures had never been heard since the day they were delivered.
By the turn of the 21st century, however, computer and digital
technology had advanced dramatically, and the painstaking work
was begun anew—this time with result. But even then, to achieve
33
60 million L. Ron Hubbard books and lectures
sold since 2007, more than in the first
50 years of Dianetics and Scientology combined.
s
s
2009
March 13, 2009: Biggest single publishing event
in history—nine L. Ron Hubbard Beginning Books
released simultaneously in 50 languages (450 titles).
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A publishing phenomenON
L. Ron Hubbard’s Beginning
Books of Dianetics and
Scientology published in 50
languages.
Afrikaans
Albanian
Arabic
Bengali
Brazilian
Bulgarian
Chinese
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Farsi
Finnish
French
Georgian
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Kazakh
Korean
Kyrgyz
Latvian
Lithuanian
Macedonian
Nepali
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Serbian
Sinhalese
Slovak
Slovenian
Swahili
Tagalog
Thai
Taiwanese
Turkish
Russian
Spanish
(Latam)
Spanish
(Castilian)
Swedish
Ukrainian
Urdu
Vietnamese
the quality befitting the content, the Church continually pushed
boundaries of existing audio technology and thereby established
the world’s most sophisticated sound restoration studios. Tens
of thousands of hours later, the project had successfully restored
hundreds of hours of previously missing, distorted or inaudible
recordings. The net result was the recovery of an enormous body
of Scientology Scripture for today and forever.
This monumental undertaking in research, verification, editorial
and audio was directed at every step by Mr. Miscavige. From this
came the most dramatic achievement in the Church’s history:
recovery of the very foundations of the Scientology religion.
Eighteen books by L. Ron Hubbard, perfect in every detail; the
corresponding lecture series for each book, 280 lectures in all,
34
produced inhouse on CD; each lecture series including verified
transcripts and supplemental references; and each book and
lecture series containing a massive glossary, defining words as Mr.
Hubbard used them to ensure understanding by any listener. And
to cap it all, every book and lecture was reproduced and released in
the world’s 15 major languages.
And that is why this is truly a Golden Age of Knowledge for
every Scientologist.
As Mr. Miscavige summed it up: “And just in case you missed
it—we are not speaking of ‘corrected’ manuscripts. Not ‘newly
verified’ manuscripts. And definitely not just ‘repackaged.’ What
we are speaking of is 100 percent unadulterated SOURCE.”
To know that they are receiving the actual material from the
www.freedommag.org
Third Guinness World Record to
L. Ron Hubbard for Most Audiobook
Titles on Earth (185).
s
More than 2.5 million L. Ron Hubbard
books on Dianetics and Scientology,
in 15 languages, placed in 97,997 libraries.
s
s
Total number of Dianetics and
Scientology course graduates is
10 times that of five years ago.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Three Guinness
World Records
in 3 years awarded
to L. Ron Hubbard:
• Most Translated
Author
• Most Published
Author
• Author with the
most Audiobooks
L. Ron
Hubbard
books have
been placed
in over 97,000
libraries
around the
globe in the
last two years.
source of the Scientology religion, L. Ron Hubbard, is the primary
goal of every Scientologist. And Mr. Miscavige made it possible.
The Basics Create Demand
for Dianetics and Scientology
The release of the basic books and lectures means that every
Scientologist can now study the foundation of the Scientology
religion easily, rapidly and in chronological sequence, thereby
gaining an unprecedented understanding of the religion and its
application to life. Tens of thousands of Scientologists have done
just that.
As but one measure of its impact, in the 50 years prior
to the release of The Basics, a total of 39 million copies of
www.freedommag.org
L. Ron Hubbard’s written and spoken works on Dianetics and
Scientology were in circulation. Since release—that is, in the last
two years alone—more than 60 million L. Ron Hubbard books
and lectures are in the hands of readers.
With all of those materials available in 15 languages, and the
most basic of them in 50 languages, the total number of Dianetics
and Scientology translations over the last decade is 10 times the
previous five decades. In recognition of just that, the Guinness
Book of Records has acknowledged L. Ron Hubbard as the
world’s most translated author.
But, of course, the real significance of the basic Dianetics and
Scientology materials can only be measured in terms of people’s
lives. Whether to better one’s ability to get along with others,
mend a broken marriage, acquire artistic skill or improve job
performance through increased competence—not to mention
the attainment of total spiritual freedom—the books and lectures
of Scientology contain principles that millions have applied to
achieve their goals.
35
meeting the demand for
scientology materials
New facilities can print 500,000 books
and 925,000 compact discs a week
Bridge Publications is the world’s largest all-digital, print-on-demand publishing house.
S
ince release of the Dianetics and
Scientology Basic Books and Lectures
in 2007, Scientologists have flooded
into their churches in greater numbers
than ever. Demand for the materials has
grown exponentially and, as parishioners
have progressed through those books and
lectures, the numbers of new people coming
in to find out about Scientology have likewise
grown. Indeed, the Scientology religion
36
is now enjoying its greatest expansion era
in history, with public demand for L. Ron
Hubbard books and lectures escalating
across more than 200 nations, 150 cultures
and in some 50 languages.
Meeting that demand required facilities to
provide books and lectures in any language,
any quantity, with adequate speed and
economy—no matter if 500 copies of a title
in Swahili for Uganda or 1 million in English.
No conventional printing house would
serve—not with a 2,500-lecture library times
50 languages. Time frames could never be
met and printing costs for a relatively small
number of books for new pioneer areas
would prove entirely prohibitive.
A new publishing strategy was needed and,
under the direction of Mr. Miscavige, that
strategy was developed and put in place in
early 2007—even prior to release of The Basics.
www.freedommag.org
l. ron hubbard’s
books win
18 design
awards
In the past year alone,
Bridge Publications Inc.
was recognized with 18
awards for excellence
in design, printing and
production. Awards for
Mr. Hubbard’s books
included the Gold Ink
Award 2008, American
Inhouse Design Award
2008, National Best Books
2008 and Next Generation
Indie Book Award 2009.
Bridge’s automated packaging and shipping delivery system.
Bridge’s CD replication plant can produce 925,000
compact discs of L. Ron Hubbard lectures per week.
Mr. Miscavige directed that all books
and lecture CDs be produced inhouse, the
entire line from inception to distribution:
printing, foiling, embossing, laminating,
CD replication, packaging and shipping.
Housed in massive new headquarters, the
Church’s publishing arms are now the
world’s largest all-digital, print-on-demand
facilities. Their precision operation is visited
regularly by industry leaders as a model of
innovation and efficiency.
Bridge Publications manufactures
all Dianetics and Scientology books,
www.freedommag.org
Reception of Bridge Publication’s new 274,000-square-foot
facility in Los Angeles.
lectures and course packs for the
Americas, Asia and the rest of the world,
except Europe and the United Kingdom
which are under the purview of New Era
Publications in Copenhagen, Denmark.
In combination, Bridge and New Era
can print 500,000 books and 925,000
compact discs a week. Annually, that
amounts to 26 million books and 48
million CDs.
Add in paperbacks and course packs,
and the printed pages placed end to end
would extend to the moon and back.
With digital printing and print-ondemand, production has soared and keeps
pace with the demand. Eighty million
L. Ron Hubbard books and lectures have
been distributed in the past five years alone,
more than in the previous 50 years—and
60 million in just the past two years.
Moreover, with all Mr. Hubbard’s
religious works now available to anyone the
world over, what has ensued is no less than
a renaissance for the Scientology religion.
37
bringing scientology
to the world
golden era
productions
A STATISTICAL OVERVIEW
SCIENTOLOGY IS A RELIGION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
Golden Era Productions’
new residence buildings
are designed to provide
living accommodations for
some 900 staff members.
To make its religious technology broadly known, Mr. David Miscavige has
directed the utilization of resources to disseminate Scientology effectively in
a multimedia age. To that end, he established state-of-the-art recording and
film studios at Golden Era Productions, the Church’s central dissemination
organization, set on 500 acres in Southern California. As the international
dissemination center for the entire Scientology religion, it has reached
unprecedented achievements.
Since 2005:
❚❚ Over 14,000 translated
❚❚ Over 7.8 million DVDs have
lectures have been recorded.
been sold and/or distributed,
comprising 1,920 DVD titles.
❚❚ The beginning Dianetics and
Scientology audiobooks were
❚❚ Over 5,200 videos and films
recorded in 15 languages.
have been produced (English
and translated), an average of
❚❚ 23,000 individual lecture titles
90 per month.
were produced on compact disc.
❚❚ 1,571 hours of video have been
❚❚ Over 1.8 million pages of
produced since 2004, an average
L. Ron Hubbard’s written
of 27 hours per month.
works have been translated
in the past five years alone,
❚❚ 746 films (English and
compared to a total of 359,459
translated) have been produced.
pages for the prior 50 years.
❚❚ 82 international broadcast
❚❚ 12.4 million online visitors
events were produced (English
from 234 countries viewed more
and translated) totaling over
than 23 million videos on the
1,700 hours, an average of 28
Scientology website in the past
hours per month.
year alone.
❚❚ Over 61 million compact
discs containing the lectures
of L. Ron Hubbard have been
replicated.
38
www.freedommag.org
the church
of scientology’s
planetary
social
betterment
campaigns
REVOLUTIONIZING
HUMANITARIAN OUTREACH
IN THE AUDIOVISUAL AGE
T
he global devastation and human misery wrought by drug
abuse, human rights violations, moral decay and natural and
manmade disasters is unmistakable. They threaten to rip
the social fabric to shreds and in many parts of the world these
societal ills have already caused seemingly irreparable damage.
What is conspicuously lacking in combating these virtually
apocalyptic scenarios are readily available, easily assimilated and
rapidly distributable tools—tools to raise awareness, tools to
educate and tools to activate.
In recognition of the fact that mass communication in the
modern world would hinge largely on audiovisual delivery
capability, Mr. David Miscavige moved the Scientology religion
into the multimedia age with the establishment of state-of-the-art
studio facilities at Golden Era Productions.
Under Mr. Miscavige’s direction, that multimedia capacity has
now been brought to bear on the global problems attendant to
drug abuse, human rights violations and moral decay.
The Church of Scientology’s revolutionary social betterment
programs in the fields of drug education, human rights
awareness, moral resurgence and disaster relief now stand in
testament of that focus. They are utterly unique, indisputably
cutting edge and most importantly—effective.
www.freedommag.org
The pattern is wholly consistent:
• Create aesthetically powerful public service announcements
that communicate the core issues in direct terms that
anyone can understand so as to raise public awareness.
• Freely distribute these announcements both for broadcast
on the Internet and television as well as to like-minded
organizations.
• Follow up with longer-form video properties that can be
used to educate.
• Create educational material and curriculums that can be
used to further enlighten and empower those in need.
• Make all of it freely accessible on the World Wide Web.
• Allow all interested individuals, groups and governments to
make the campaign their own.
• And in this way create a global force for common good,
uniting all in overcoming societal ills that plague this planet.
This is the fundamental pattern, and it was both conceived
and inspired by Mr. Miscavige himself—right down to the finest
details of scripting, production, post production, sound mixing and
manufacture on DVD for mass distribution. What follows here are
the statistics and accomplishments of the global social betterment
campaigns of the Scientology religion.
This is what can be done when one man, driven to achieve the vision
the religious Founder entrusted to him, with the full support of the
religious movement he leads, extends the hand of indiscriminate help
to others.
39
The
truth
about
drugs
The world’s largest non-governmental drug
education and prevention campaign, The
Truth About Drugs, reduces drug use through
broad distribution of fact-based booklets,
award-winning Public Service Announcements,
documentary films and interactive website. All
program materials are available free of charge
to individuals, educators and community
organizations.
• More than 700 million people have
been reached with The Truth About Drugs
message, 491 million people in the last 12
months alone, through print, TV, radio,
billboards, hand distribution of The Truth
About Drugs booklets and the Foundation
for a Drug-Free World Internet site
(www.drugfreeworld.org).
• Over 206 million people have viewed
the Truth About Drugs Public Service
Announcements in the last 12 months.
• Just over 23 million The Truth About
Drugs booklets have been distributed in
20 languages to at-risk youth and in drug
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DRUGS
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40
And a new series of documentary
videos, totaling one and a half hours in
length, to accompany and complement The
Truth About Drugs series of booklets, with
an individual chapter for every “drug of
choice.”
‫פא‬
G
lobal drug abuse has led to what
can inarguably be described as a
world awash in blood and human
misery.
In reply, the Church of Scientology
sponsors the largest non-governmental
anti-drug information and prevention
campaign on Earth. It has been conclusively
proven that when young people are provided
with the truth about drugs—factual
information on what drugs are and what
they do—usage rates commensurately
drop. By statistical survey, it has thus far
prevented some 500,000 young people
from recreational drug use… or worse.
There is still, however, much more to
be done. Thus, the Church of Scientology
offers its publications (which neither
contain nor advocate any Scientology
beliefs) to like-minded anti-drug coalitions,
government institutions, civic groups and
schools. This includes:
The Truth About Drugs series of 13
educational booklets—covering the major
“drugs of choice” and presented in a way
to educate on the serious ramifications of
their abuse.
A study guide, activities manual and
educator’s classroom kit give teachers,
law enforcement and community groups
effective tools to educate youth and enable
them to make correct decisions on this
subject.
Drugs destroy
and ruin millions
of lives every year.
What should YOU
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hot spots throughout the world—3.6
million in the last 12 months.
• Drug-Free Marshals have promoted to
nearly 3.4 million children to live drug-free
View the They Said/They Lied
Public Service Announcements and
Truth About Drugs documentary at
www.drugfreeworld.org
www.freedommag.org
human
rights
lives through their events and DrugFree Pledge signings internationally.
• Over 450,000 information
mailings have been sent to groups
and organizations concerned with
the global drug problem, inviting
them to order publications and
implement the Truth About Drugs
Education Program.
• Over 350,000 people have visited
the Drug-Free World Internet site
in the last year and ordered more
than 718,000 booklets.
• The international Truth About
Drugs campaign is active in 79 countries
from Argentina to Zimbabwe, with 166
drug prevention groups in 130 cities
worldwide.
• Foundation for a Drug-Free
World has partnered with 78
governmental, law enforcement and
educational agencies and institutions
internationally.
The Church’s
human rights
initiative
is aimed
at bringing
about global
awareness
through 30
PSAs, one for each article of
the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and the film
The Story of Human Rights.
www.freedommag.org
C
entral to Scientology
beliefs is a conviction
that all humankind is
entitled to inalienable
rights. So it is that
for more than 50 years Scientologists have
championed the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Today, the Church of Scientology
sponsors the largest non-governmental
information campaign to make the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights known the
world over.
The Church’s human rights initiative
sponsors groups and activities and provides
its materials to individuals, groups and
government agencies in 82 nations. This
includes:
• What are Human Rights? booklets
educate youth and adults on the 30 articles
of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights in terms anyone can understand.
• A study guide, activities
manual and educator’s classroom
kit give teachers, human rights
groups and governments effective
tools to educate youth and adults
on their human rights.
• An accompanying documentary
video, What are Human Rights?
complements the PSAs, booklets and
educator materials as a further
tool to bring about a universal
awareness and respect for
human rights.
• Since 2006, more than 1.6 billion
people have viewed the Human Rights
PSAs on 3,553 stations in 16 languages
across 73 nations.
• The Human Rights World Tour has
traveled 174,000 miles throughout 45
nations, reaching over 11 million people.
• Over 1.5 million human rights
publications containing the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights have
been distributed to human rights groups,
educators and individuals.
View The Story of Human
Rights online at
www.humanrights.com
the United for Human Rights (www.
humanrights.com) and Youth for Human
Rights (www.youthforhumanrights.org)
Internet sites in the last three years.
• More than 380,000 human rights
information mailings have been sent to
human rights groups and government
agencies.
• More than 200,000 people have
signed the Human Rights Petition urging
governments to adopt reforms in human
rights and to give the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights the force of law.
41
the way to
happiness
Over 80 million copies of the non-religious,
common-sense moral code, The Way to
Happiness, have been distributed in 94 languages
in 135 countries.
• Over 80 million copies of The Way to
Happiness have been sold and distributed
since it was first published in 1981.
T
he Way to Happiness is comprised of
21 precepts, each one predicated on
the fact that one’s survival depends
on the survival of all others—and
that without the survival of others,
no joy and no happiness are attainable.
In illustration of those precepts, the
Church of Scientology sponsored the
production and airing of a corresponding
series of informational videos. They are
presented in the spirit of the booklet itself,
which is a roadmap to a happier life through
values of compassion and caring that every
member of a civilized society holds dear.
Additionally distributed internationally
and made available by request are the
teacher’s guide and educator materials to
supplement the use of the informational
videos in a classroom environment.
An international network of volunteers
and supporters of The Way to Happiness
Foundation now spans 135 nations.
Moreover, other groups dedicated to
improving moral standards continue to
adopt this booklet for their own use—
groups as diverse as the National Honduras
42
• More than 430,000 The Way to Happiness
information mailings have been sent
out over the last two years to groups and
organizations inviting them to order The
Way to Happiness for distribution and to
implement the education program based
on the book.
Police, Secretary General of the Philippine
Red Cross, the California State Chairman
of the Congress on Racial Equality have
taken up and now distribute personalized
copies of the booklet. As a further example
of the far-reaching use of this booklet, the
National Police of Colombia now utilize
The Way to Happiness booklet in both
training their entire force and broadly
distributing it to Colombian citizens.
Further, the 21 The Way to Happiness
PSAs air daily on a variety of media ranging
from city buses in Chicago, Samoan rugby
matches, Central American food courts and
television stations on all seven continents.
• The 21 Public Service Announcements
illustrating each of the precepts from The
Way to Happiness have been viewed by
725 million people in the last 12 months
on 386 stations in 52 countries as well as at
sporting events, concerts and in shopping
malls.
• The Way to Happiness has been translated
into 94 languages.
The Way to Happiness Internet site
(www.thewaytohappiness.org) in the last
two years—270,000 in the last year alone.
• With the 2008 launch of The Way to
Happiness Education Program more than
1,600 schools have ordered the booklets
and materials, with 150,000 children
learning the non-religious moral precepts
from The Way to Happiness.
• The Way to Happiness is used in 2,097
prisons worldwide as part of the Criminon
rehabilitation program.
View The Way to Happiness
Public Service Announcements at
www.thewaytohappiness.org
www.freedommag.org
the scientology
volunteer
ministers
The Church’s 153
regional Volunteer
Ministers traveling
centers—known for
their signature yellow
tents—have given aid
to 10.8 million people
in 116 countries.
T
hrough the last 20 years,
Scientology Volunteer Ministers
have provided emergency service
at 126 worst-case disaster sites.
Today, they are among the world’s
most recognized independent relief
organizations.
A Scientology Volunteer Minister
does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil
and injustice of existence. A Scientology
Volunteer Minister is a person who helps
his fellow man on a volunteer basis by
helping restore purpose, truth and spiritual
values to the lives of others.
Volunteer Ministers live by the motto
that “Something can be done about it.”
• Today there are 196,000 Scientology
Volunteer Ministers worldwide, compared
to 45,000 in 2005 and 6,000 in 2001.
• Volunteer Ministers have helped over
1.4 million people in the last year, a 300
percent increase over the 2004 figure of
550,000 people. Volunteer Ministers have
helped 10.8 million people since 9/11.
• More than 470,000 Volunteer Ministers
information mailings have been sent out
over the past two years.
the Volunteer Ministers Internet site
(www.volunteerministers.org) in the last
year alone, with 149,000 people starting
www.freedommag.org
throughout their cities or towns helping
hundreds of thousands yearly.
• Volunteer Ministers have been involved
in disaster relief efforts in 126 major disaster
sites, 42 locations in the last year alone.
Volunteer Ministers have been first responders
at 126 worst-case disaster sites.
• Volunteer Ministers have trained and
partnered with more than 500 different
organizations and agencies including the
Red Cross, FEMA, National Guard, and
local police and fire departments.
free online Volunteer Minister Courses in
the last seven months alone.
• 18 Continental Volunteer Ministers
traveling centers have toured through 116
countries covering over 300,000 miles
(more than 140,000 miles within the past
year).
• The 135 regional Volunteer Ministers
traveling centers—the signature yellow
tents attached to Churches of Scientology
in major cultural centers—have toured
Visit the virtual Volunteer Ministers
Center online at
www.volunteerministers.org
43
INSIDE the s.p. times
merchants
journalistic Double-dealing
What is described as the Scientology religion’s Global
Bridge to Freedom is now manifest in some 8,000
Scientology Churches, Missions and groups across 165
nations. Moreover, and even as of this writing, some
70 new Churches are on the rise across Europe, Africa,
Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
The point: That phrase “Global Bridge” has never
held greater meaning inasmuch as Scientology is
presently growing at historically unprecedented
rates—expanding more in the last 12 months than in
the previous five years combined, and more again in
the last five years than in all five previous decades.
The Scientology religion is also enjoying
unprecedented worldwide popularity. In but the
last four years, readers have picked up better than
80 million Dianetics and Scientology books and
lectures––60 million in just the last two years alone.
44
Accordingly, Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard is
now recognized in the Guinness Book of Records as the
most published and translated author in history, with
titles in 71 languages.
But nowhere is the size and scope of Scientology
more evident than at its religious Mecca in
Clearwater, Florida. Indeed, Church premises in
Clearwater now comprise over 1.7 million square feet
with still another 385,000 under construction.
The point here: While one may rightly cite new
Church building projects in Brussels, Rome, Tel Aviv
and Washington, DC, for an immediate sense of 21st
century Scientology expansion, all one need do is gaze
from the door of the S.P. Times Clearwater Bureau.
In that sense, then, this is a story of the S.P. Times
looking through the wrong end of a telescope and
reporting it as news.
www.freedommag.org
| A FREEDOM SPECIAL REPORT
ts of chaos
at the st. petersburg times
May 13, 2009:
M
r. Tommy Davis from the International Church of Scientology
receives a telephone call from S.P. Times
reporter/editor Joe Childs.
In fact, Childs is the senior editor who,
in tandem with staff writer Tom Tobin,
had profiled Scientology leader Mr. David
Miscavige in 1998. [See David Miscavige:
The Peacemaker, p. 63.]
Just eight weeks earlier, Childs had
additionally toured the recently renovated
and opened Fort Harrison Religious
Retreat at the Scientology Mecca in
Clearwater. Indeed, it was none other
than Mr. Miscavige who suggested Childs
be among the first to see the elegantly
rebuilt landmark. Accordingly, Davis and
colleague Jessica Feshbach toured Childs
through the facility on the 19th of March.
www.freedommag.org
Given Childs claimed he was intending
to author a piece on the Fort Harrison’s
grand reopening, he was further afforded
an inside look at Church expansion plans,
in both Clearwater and abroad.
Primary point: As of May 13, 2009, Joe
Childs knew exactly what Mr. Miscavige
had brought to the Church of Scientology
and, by extension, to many millions world
over.
Secondary point: Within 24 hours of his
Fort Harrison tour, Childs informed Davis
that another reporter would take over the
story and cover the grand reopening...for
reasons not explained until now.
The call begins with cordial formalities,
after which Childs gets to the point:
“We’re calling to make a formal request to
interview David Miscavige.”
He then goes on to explain that he
and Tom Tobin had recently interviewed
some former Church staff who were now
ex-Scientologists and they had given
“first-hand accounts” of their alleged
experiences with Mr. Miscavige. Childs
further explained that he and Tobin had
reached the point where they felt it was
“appropriate” to give Mr. Miscavige an
“opportunity” to respond to the allegations
of “these folks.”
That Childs refers to his sources as
“folks” is significant. He would also later
describe them as “our people.” He names
four in all.
Source #1: Mark “Marty” Rathbun is
the “Kingpin” of the Tobin-Childs story.
Formerly an external legal affairs officer,
he was removed from post in December
2001 for repeated catastrophes he admits
were of his own creation, resulting in tens
of millions of dollars of wasted parishioner
funds. He was dismissed entirely from
45
the organization he served in December
2003. Shortly thereafter he deserted.
Source #2: Tom DeVocht is the
incorrigible “Con Man.” He formerly
served as a Church construction manager,
a position from which he was removed
in March 2005 for gross overspends and
mismanagement. Two months later he,
too, deserted.
Source #3: Amy Scobee, the “Adulteress,”
likewise proved herself a hopelessly
incompetent manager and failed at five
positions through the course of her checkered
career. In her repeat adultery, she violated
fundamental rules of the Scientology
religious order. She was finally removed from
any position of authority in 2002. When she
failed to curb her wanton sexual behavior, she
was expelled from the Scientology religion.
Source #4: Mike Rinder is what Childs
describes as the “Fact-Checker” inasmuch
as he initially refused to go on record, and
merely “fact-checks” tales from the others.
He was also an external legal affairs officer
and, in fact, worked with Marty Rathbun
for the better part of three decades. He
was demoted from executive authority in
2002 and latterly banned from posting
in Management in Los Angeles. While
serving in England, given numerous
options to choose from for re-posting,
Rinder likewise deserted.
That Childs and Tobin deliberately
sought out and cultivated these people
casts an even murkier light on the makings
of this story. For the fact is, Mr. Miscavige
had personally removed three of the four
from power. (Only Scobee was removed by
is that the Times had “located each one of
these folks independently” and “interviewed
them independently.” Without prompting,
he then defensively adds that he didn’t
believe they conversed among themselves.
But Davis knew those folks did, in fact, do
a lot of conversing with the lunatic fringe
on the Internet’s conspiratorial “grassy
knoll.” What Davis was soon to discover is
that they also did a lot of conversing with
Childs and Tobin––particularly when
the reporters proved receptive to any tale,
no matter how far-fetched, that would
disparage Mr. Miscavige and the Church.
But the long and short of such embittered
ramblings were five paramount lies:
Lie #1: That the Church was collapsing.
Lie #2: That the Scriptures of Dianetics
and Scientology were being misinterpreted.
Lie #3: That all four sources had left
Scientology in protest to “injustices” and
“abuses.”
Lie #4: That Rathbun wanted peace while
Mr. Miscavige wanted war.
Lie #5: That Mr. Miscavige had abused
them and others.
>> The True Facts
F
act #1: Now, of course, given
what Childs himself had seen
through his tour of the Fort Harrison,
the first allegation––that the Church was
collapsing––was plainly untrue.
Indeed, as even Childs remarked through
that first telephone call on May 13, “We
know the growth the Church has achieved
under Mr. Miscavige’s era.” He then went
Davis bluntly asks if Childs was already working
on this story when they had met at the Fort Harrison
eight weeks earlier in March.
To which Childs responds: “Yes and no.”
her peers.) Hence, resentment and revenge
were clearly in play.
Now couple that with the fact both
Childs and Tobin had been working on
their story in utter secrecy for 13 weeks
before contacting the Church, and here
were all the elements of a hatchet job.
Although all Childs says at this juncture
46
on to explain how he knew the Church
had been “repurposed,” “redefined,” had
become “more open,” “more engaged” and
“more accepted.” To which he concluded:
“It’s not peeping into the mainstream. It is
in mainstream America.”
Fact #2: The second allegation
(that Church Scriptures were being
misinterpreted) was just as patently
untrue—and particularly inasmuch as the
policies supposedly misinterpreted were
the very same policies applied to remove
the Tobin-Childs sources. These are the
ecclesiastical ethics and justice policies
that mandate removal of individuals for
precisely the kinds of crimes the S.P. Times
sources committed.
Fact #3: The third allegation (that
the sources left in protest) is actually an
indictment of the S.P. Times journalistic
process. For if Childs and Tobin had
only asked their people to describe the
circumstances of their departure from the
Church, the reporters would have learned
that none had left in protest. Rather, they
were removed for ecclesiastical crimes, then
walked away when they found themselves
stripped of authority.
Fact #4: The fourth allegation (that
Rathbun wanted peace and Mr. Miscavige
wanted war) is, in fact, an indictment
of Rathbun’s own sanity. For here was a
self-avowed “warrior” who loved nothing
more than a legal fracas. By contrast, after
famously declaring the “War is Over” in
1993, Mr. Miscavige diligently worked
to extricate the Church from all conflicts.
While even more to the point, most if not
all such conflicts were actually created by
Rathbun himself. [See The Chronicles of
Betrayal, p. 58.] The case in point is that
Rathbun originally deserted in 1993 because
the war was over, an untold secret that he
would capitalize on to cause even more
catastrophes beginning in 1995.
Fact #5: All of which left Childs and
Tobin with only those allegations of abuse.
But this is where the plot really thickens,
because there were indeed isolated instances
of abuse—but all of them were perpetrated by
the very same people making those allegations,
specifically, a deeply frustrated Rathbun who
had lost his power, and his criminal cohort,
Tom DeVocht.
By way of clue as to how Childs planned
to morph those allegations into his story, he
further now asks for interviews with various
key Church executives. In particular:
Guillaume Lesevre, Marc Yager, Mark
Ingber, Ray Mithoff and Norman Starkey.
The point here: These are members of
the Scientology management team who
were also allegedly “victims” of abuse, and
Childs is hoping to snare them into some
sort of corroboration of his sources’ claims.
www.freedommag.org
Rathbun and Rinder thought they could
make up anything they wanted about these
individuals being “victims,” assuming they
would never speak to media to deny the
false allegations, simply because these
executives, with ecclesiastical duties far
removed from external affairs, had never
spoken to media in the past. Rathbun and
Rinder were sorely mistaken.
But at the center of all Childs hints at
through that first May 13 conversation was,
of course, Mr. Miscavige himself. Hence
the shadowboxing exchange wherein Davis
attempts to at least define a few parameters:
“What’s this piece about? Is it about Mr.
Miscavige or about the Church?”
As Davis explains, if it is about Mr.
Miscavige, it is about the Church by
extension, because one can’t do a piece
about the man without it being about the
Church. And from that standpoint, he tells
Childs that his sources have no idea what
is happening in the Church, considering
how long they have been gone: “There’s a
lot that has happened since they left.”
But all Childs says in reply is that the
Church deserves a “succinct account” of
the allegations.
Still, Davis presses. Because what’s
foremost on his mind and what will
continue to shadow every conversation
from here on out is the Childs suggestion
that his sources have a legitimate view
of Mr. Miscavige and the Church of
Scientology, even though they’ve seen
neither in years: “You sought those people
out and now you’re listening to them
griping to the exclusion of all else that is
Scientology today.”
Childs remains noncommittal and
evasive. Davis then bluntly asks if Childs
was already working on this story when
they had met at the Fort Harrison eight
weeks earlier in March.
To which Childs responds: “Yes and no.”
And therein lay another facet of this
story––what Davis termed the “whipsaw
effect” for the fact Childs continually
vacillated from one contradictory
statement to another.
By way of another example: When Davis
emphasizes the need for a face-to-face
meeting preliminary to a David Miscavige
interview, Childs responds: “I don’t know if
we need to sit down.”
In doublespeak, Childs next explains
how the article is “not about the Church,
www.freedommag.org
per se,” while in the same breath telling
how it’s about “the direction Mr. Miscavige
has taken the Church.”
As Davis keeps probing about the
inherent contradiction, Childs promises to
explain: “But not on the telephone.”
Nevertheless, the conversation concludes
with a first crucial date in a Tobin-Childs
timetable. It is a timetable that would
repeatedly whipsaw back and forth for
no apparent reason. Yet as of this opening
gambit, Childs states he cannot possibly
meet sooner than the 26th of May “due
to personal obligations.” It’s a date which
is a full two weeks away. Hence he closes
the conversation of May 13 with a formal
request for an interview, significantly adding:
“We are available any time after the 26th.”
The implicit point here: There is no
great urgency for the Church to respond,
as Joe Childs is in no rush to publish a
story on the Church of Scientology... and
certainly not without first interviewing Mr.
David Miscavige.
May 18, 2009:
T
he second telltale conversation
dates from the 18th of May and
brings Tom Tobin into the game. Three
business days have now passed since the
initial overture from Childs, and Davis is
calling back to confirm a meeting date.
Given Childs is unavailable, Tobin takes
the call and Davis gets right to it. He
was looking at the 27th or the 28th in
Clearwater, and specifically at the Fort
Harrison. He then explicitly adds, “Joe
Childs said we could sit down and he’d
give us an executive summary of what
had gone down.”
There is still no sense of urgency and Tobin
responds with a casual, “Sounds fine to me.”
He then promises to call Davis back.
Yet that easygoing attitude would soon
prove short-lived.
>> The Switch-Up
May 19, 2009:
O
nly 24 hours have passed since
Davis was told to expect a call in
confirmation of a meeting on or shortly
after May 26. Said meeting would be the
first sit-down with the S.P. Times and a first
opportunity to examine their promised
“summary” of allegations.
Then without warning, without
explanation, Tom Tobin telephones with
the “switch-up.”
He begins by reiterating how they spoke
the previous day about the Times giving Davis
their summary at the proposed meeting.
But suddenly Tobin changes course, telling
Davis he will send the summary immediately
by email. While by way of an explanation, he
ominously explains: “When we meet, it will
be the last time we could accept a response
before publication.”
The none-too-subtle insinuation: All
Tobin and Childs want are quick denials to
allegations so they might present a veneer
of “balance” vis-à-vis sanctioned codes of
journalistic ethics. [See Journalism 101, p. 66.]
Davis is now openly irate and tells
Tobin, “There’s no way it is going to go
down like this.”
He then goes on to explain how Childs
and Tobin have spent more than two
months listening to allegations about Mr.
Miscavige by disgruntled ex-Scientologists,
who he himself removed years ago, and
that if the Times wants to know about Mr.
Miscavige, the leader of the Scientology
religion, they need to find out what’s
happening in the Church today. And that’s
not going to happen in one day: “There’s
just no way.”
To underscore the statement, Davis
then provides Tobin with some sense
of Mr. Miscavige’s schedule––that he’s
preparing for one of the most significant
religious events of the year: the OT
Summit. It is annually attended by leading
Scientologists from around the world and
relayed to parishioners from over 8,000
Scientology Churches, Missions and
groups planet wide. In that regard it serves
as a crucial venue for briefing Scientologists
on Church expansion strategies.
Davis further explains that Mr.
Miscavige’s commitments include his
personal presentation of nine hours of
events. Moreover, included in those events
would be the most monumental advance
in the history of Dianetics. While if only
to punch it home: “It’s something he’s been
personally working on for four years.”
If Tobin’s reply is measured, it’s as close
to the heart of this story as it gets. Because
what Tobin next tells Davis is that the
leaders in “my shop” are adamant about
proceeding on an imminent timetable. To
which he concludes: “We want it to be on
our timetable.”
47
Davis is dismayed and asks why Childs
had said he wanted to give the Church
“plenty of time to respond.”
Tobin is immovable, responding: “We
think it is plenty of time.”
Davis is incredulous, once more
reiterating that Tobin and Childs “have
been working on this for months and there’s
a lot of information you don’t have.”
But Tobin refuses to waver, telling Davis:
“Just because we took some time to develop
the information doesn’t mean it is going to
take an equal amount of time to answer.”
At which point he adds with some
emphasis that he’s not interested in the
Church’s information. He only wants
responses to allegations: ‘“Did this happen
or not?’’’
In fact, however, it wasn’t at all a matter
of: “Did this happen or not?”
It was a matter of: Something else happened.
>> The Clincher
T
he telltale email cited by Tobin
through the course of conversation
landed with Davis six minutes later. The
decisive passage read:
“As we discussed a few minutes ago,
the S.P. Times is seeking an interview
with David Miscavige and the other
Scientology staff members.... Your
>> The Back-Pedal
May 20, 2009:
D
avis is now joined in his West
Coast office by Church counsel
Monique Yingling. She has represented
Scientology interests for nearly three
decades. Moreover, she is intimately
familiar with the failings of Rathbun and
Rinder––their consistent incompetence,
their repeated bungling in the legal sphere
and their trail of botched cases she was
forever called upon to clean up.
On the desk is that Tobin-Childs
“executive summary” of allegations
emailed 24 hours earlier. That such
allegations held no relevance to
Clearwater residents and were actually
just recycled from stale Internet postings
is another wrinkle in this story. For
here were two supposedly mainstream
reporters presenting tales from a lunatic
fringe and fobbing it off as explosive and
timely news for their readers—strictly
National Enquirer standards.
Accordingly, and expressly in reply to
the Childs-Tobin ultimatum, Davis and
Yingling telephone Clearwater. They catch
Childs at 5 p.m.
Davis launches the opening salvo,
recapping how Childs had approached the
Church with a request for a meeting where
It wasn’t a matter of “it happened or it
didn’t,” it was a matter of “or something else
happened.” And that is what Davis intends on
revealing, promising Childs, “I will light your
hair on fire. ”
proposed meeting on May 27 or 28 at
the Fort Harrison Hotel would be the
very last time we could accept a response
before publication.”
Additionally included is a mishmash of
details concerning all other allegations––a
scant fragment here, another there. The
email then perfunctorily closes with:
“We are providing this information today
so you will have ample time to review it.”
Although by “ample time,” the S.P.
Times meant giving the Church only five
business days to respond.
48
the Church would hear out an executive
summary and how, all of a sudden,
everything changed: “Here’s the email, and
next week’s your only chance before we go
to publication.” Davis further reiterates
that definitely wasn’t the agreed-upon plan
and bluntly tells Childs, “All of a sudden
it’s bait and switch.”
He further reminds Childs that he is
talking about the leader of a religion, and
somebody beloved by millions. “You know
what he’s like. You’ve spent days with him.
He’s the one who gave you full, unfettered
access to the Church. You can’t disagree
with me that he deserves more than this.”
Yingling speaks next, telling Childs
in no uncertain terms that there is a
willingness to respond and to cooperate,
but that it’s outrageous the Times would
ask for it to happen in one day. After all,
she reminds Childs, he had been working
on his story since February. “It doesn’t add
up at all––unless you have your story and
you’re just looking for a denial.”
To which she adds on a personal note,
“I was there, I know these guys. I know
what happened.” She further tells them,
“You have been sold a bill of goods.” In
emphasis, she then explains that what the
Times has heard from their folks is not
“their version” of a story, “it’s just a story
that never happened.” She concludes by
telling them that there is a story and the
Church is more than willing to tell it, but it
cannot possibly be done in one day.
Childs, however, remains steadfast and
insists the Church may only have one day,
either the 27th or 28th of May, as first
dictated by the Times in their email of the
previous day.
Yingling insists that a single day is
not possibly sufficient for the Church to
respond. She suggests they start next week
and go from there.
But Childs stonewalls with another
ultimatum: “I’m not willing to give more
days unless there’s a justification for it.”
Yingling stays to a steady course, once
again affirming a willingness to sit down
and talk. In fact, she tells Childs that in
addition to speaking to Mr. Miscavige,
there are also a number of other people he
should speak to as well.
Yingling’s implicit point: Childs and
Tobin should avail themselves of firsthand reports from inside the Church.
Whereupon she adds: “We’re not just
saying these allegations are false, we can
prove it to you.”
There’s another Tobin-Childs switch-up
at this juncture, and it tracks out as follows:
The reporters have previously requested
interviews with Church management
personnel; they have confirmed that
request in their email. But now Childs
announces, “I don’t know that we are going
to be wanting to interview those people.”
Davis responds with a mixture of shock
and outrage. To which Childs answers, “I
don’t want to wait.”
www.freedommag.org
S.P. Times Source #3
Davis, utterly furious, returns to
the central issue—specifically, Tobin’s
statement that “It either happened or it
didn’t.” To which Davis now repeats that
it wasn’t a matter of “it happened or it
didn’t,” it was a matter of “or something
else happened.” And that, Davis states, is
what he intends on revealing, promising
Childs, “I will light your hair on fire.”
Childs repeats the phrase, “Light our
hair on fire?” At which point he tells Davis
that he’d better come through. Otherwise,
Childs and Tobin would “just keep to the
timetable we’re looking at.”
But that’s when Davis pops the whole
premise of the Tobin-Childs timetable:
“Joe, don’t come to me about the leader
of our religion, especially with allegations
that are this disgusting, then top it off by
putting me under that kind of pressure
with that kind of window––not when
you’ve already been on this for 13 weeks.”
Childs dances: “I haven’t been on it for
13 weeks.”
Lie––and Davis nails it: “You have been
talking to your sources since late February.”
Childs knows he’s been caught out and
giggles: “We’ll need to see something that
lights our hair on fire.”
>> The First Meeting
May 28, 2009:
I
t is estimated Childs and Tobin
have devoted some 500 hours to
their sources since first contact. They have
interviewed Rathbun in Texas, Rinder in
Colorado and crisscrossed Florida to catch
DeVocht and Scobee.
But now they sit at a rosewood and
mahogany conference table in the
Colonial Boardroom of Scientology’s Fort
Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. Facing
them are Yingling, Davis and Feshbach.
Also present is Bill Walsh––the longestserving Church counsel and internationally
renowned human rights attorney. As with
Yingling, Walsh previously tidied up
messes left by Rathbun and Rinder. He
was further tasked with mopping up in
the wake of their removals and eventual
departures.
In the eight days since Yingling and
Davis set this meeting, the four Church
representatives had compiled a minutely
documented brief on S.P. Times sources. It
is ten o’clock in the morning EST.
www.freedommag.org
The Grassy Knoll
“Then we found Amy Scobee and she,
like these others, is not on that grassy
knoll that fires stuff onto the Internet.”
—Joe Childs
“Nasty, nasty, nasty. It’s so nasty!” —Church counsel Monique Yingling on
reviewing the more than 300 Scobee
postings on outlaw websites.
Dismissed from Scientology management for gross incompetence and sexual
misconduct, Amy Scobee last called herself a Scientologist in 2005. She is now the
self-proclaimed “Peacock” of an Internet fringe that posts salacious messages to
incite hate crimes against Scientology and Scientologists. Although she has thus
far escaped hate-crime scrutiny, she is now on record as among the most vitriolic
Internet snipers.
Hence, the highly suspect claim from S.P. Times reporter Joe Childs that
“Peacock” was “Internet clean” when he and Tom Tobin originally searched her out in
early 2009.
Also pertinent to the “Peacock” story: She was originally removed from Church
management ranks in 2002, in no small part for repeated extramarital affairs—even
including the later seduction of and sexual affair with a staff member she pretended
to counsel, which is among the most egregious violations of Scientology ethics.
Moreover, she did this in a counseling room while already on the Rehabilitation
Project Force.
But the real indiscretions of the “Peacock” story are her semi-pornographic
postings on the Internet.
Such postings tend to “take on a life of their own,” Tobin admitted in discussions
with Church representatives, and he was right. For the fact is, virtually every TobinChilds allegation appearing in the S.P. Times originally appeared as a “Peacock”
Internet posting between May 2006 and early June 2009.
Not surprisingly, the Monday after the Tobin-Childs series saw the light of day
(June 29 to be precise), the Church received a phone call from a local Scientologist
at approximately 10:15 in the morning. The caller informed the Church he had just
seen Scobee, joined by both reporters from the S.P. Times, enjoying what can
only be surmised to be a celebratory brunch at Clearwater’s International House of
Pancakes—after which she spent the day sunbathing on Clearwater Beach.
All commences with what amounts to a
Joe Childs statement of record. In particular,
he’s attempting to justify violations of a
fundamental journalistic tenet, i.e., Article
VI, American Society of Newspaper Editors’
Principles, which holds that “persons
publicly accused” be afforded “the earliest
opportunity to respond.” He’s also trying to
whitewash obvious S.P. Times bias, which is
another journalistic code violation:
“It probably was two weeks ago that
I called Tommy and requested a formal
interview with Mr. Miscavige, whom
Tom and I know…. We came to recognize
in the late 90’s that he [has] a remarkable
personal and professional story. And we
sought to tell that story in 1998, and that
remains our belief today.
“And so this year, we sought to see if
we could find Rathbun. He talked to us
and he said some things that were deeply
interesting.
“Rathbun told us about some
people who had left the Church. So we
found Tom DeVocht and after some
consideration, he also spoke with us.
Then we found Mike Rinder who we met
with and spoke with, but he declined to
be interviewed. And then we found Amy
Scobee and she, like these others, is not
on that grassy knoll that fires stuff onto
the Internet––in our view.”
49
Davis, Yingling and Walsh have thus
far listened tolerantly. But Childs’ claim
that Scobee is Internet-clean is more than
they can bear. In fact, Scobee has fired more
than 300 virulent postings across Internet
fringe sites since early 2006. Rathbun also
posts online––generally long and rambling
diatribes on messianic plans to stage a coup
and usurp Church leadership.
With all this in mind, Yingling tells
Childs:
“You have not looked very closely at
the Internet, I have to say. She is all over
the Internet.”
Childs tries to parry it:
“Well, a lot of us are on the Internet,
Monique, whether you’re on the grassy
knoll part of it or not is, you know.... But
anyway, we talked to her and she seemed
transparent to us, and so that’s where we
are today.”
interested in cooperating very much
along the lines of what you experienced
11 years ago.”
Tobin now enters the fray, and he is
disturbingly condescending:
“The way we went about this is the
way I think that any journalist would…
I don’t think we’ve done anything
untoward. I mean, this is Journalism 101.
You talk to the person, and then you get
the response.”
But Yingling knows the game and
unleashes another salvo––albeit in typically
measured terms:
“Well, I think this may not be
Journalism 101....”
To which Davis adds in equally
measured terms:
“These are embittered guys. They
used to run with the big dogs in the tall
grass and now they’re out there and
“They’re bitter. They’ve got an ax to grind
and I would hope that you could at least
acknowledge that…”
Joe Childs: “We do.”
Yet Yingling is back to the heart of the
matter––and relentlessly so:
“That you would talk to these people
without asking the Church why they
left and the circumstances surrounding
that, and listen to their accusations
and their vitriol, then come to us three
months later asking for a response ... I
can convey my own personal outrage,
particularly given the access that you
were given to Mr. Miscavige [in 1998].
Your interview with him is the only one
he’s given in the time period since then
till now.”
Childs after composing himself, then says:
“Let me ask you what seems to be the
primary question. Are we going to see
David Miscavige today?”
To which Yingling immediately replies:
“Today, no. But you will see him––yes.
As I told you on the phone, he is willing
to talk to you and he will be interviewed,
yes.”
Davis reinforces it:
“Despite anything, we are very
50
they’re doing whatever they are doing.
They’re bitter. They’ve got an ax to grind
and I would hope that you could at
least acknowledge that there is an ax to
grind.”
Childs exchanges a glance with Tobin,
then nods:
“We do.”
But Yingling isn’t finished:
“They left because they were removed
from post, demoted and they couldn’t
handle it. And now they’re attacking
the one individual who’s responsible
for what’s really happening to the
Church.”
Whereupon she pauses for emphasis,
then locks onto Childs and delivers:
“I have never seen such expansion and
growth in the Church. And guess what?
It’s date-coincident with when those
guys left. So that’s the story: The Church
has grown more in the last five years
since Rathbun left than it has in its entire
history.”
At which point Davis drives it home:
“And all of this is juxtaposed against
a guy who likes to go fishing in South
Texas, a guy who sells Toyotas in Denver,
a guy who does who-knows-what in
Florida and a woman who refurbishes
furniture in Seattle.”
All of which then effectively clears the
ground for this––Davis again:
“All these people you are asking
about, including your source Mike
Rinder, by report and with witnesses
on every single occasion, all of them
were either slapped, punched, kicked,
choked, grabbed by the neck, thrown
to the floor or tackled into furniture by
none other than Marty Rathbun. Every
single one of them.”
Davis:
“So you just have to change the
names.”
Davis then cites a first document––two
pages, by DeVocht. It reads in part:
“Marty Rathbun and I were beating
people up. I broke someone’s ribs and
beat him up. The guy got freaked out and
then Marty piled on. There were others
who got jumped on. Mike got beaten up
by Marty and me.”
There was more. Because whether
some twisted form of “battered wife
syndrome” or another sort of anomaly all
together, Rathbun and Rinder forged a
bond. Hence this from Rinder himself:
“I emulated Marty in many instances.
I thought he was the person I should
act like and I did. I became a clone of
him, but totally subservient to him in
all respects. I never disagreed with him
on anything and was in tacit agreement
with him that anything he did or said
was okay.”
There’s another ominous silence. Davis
lets it settle, then explains that Rinder was,
in fact, Rathbun’s primary punching bag––
which makes their present relationship all
the more kinky. Be that as it may, he then
adds:
“The most famous incident came in
January 2004 when inexplicably, out
of nowhere, no forewarning, Marty
Rathbun leapt onto Mike Rinder,
tackled him to the ground, straddled
him at the chest, grabbed him at the
throat, choked him while banging his
head into the floor, screaming at him,
asking him a question repeatedly to the
point that he was turning purple and
www.freedommag.org
Life Decisions
“Tom DeVocht liked and wanted to
be connected to power and wanted
to position himself as if he were
powerful, when he really wasn’t in
much of a position of power at all.”
—Jenny Linson, ex-wife and
former administrative senior
to S.P. Times source Tom DeVocht
Tom DeVocht tells Joe Childs and Tom Tobin he had
witnessed “75 to 100 instances of violence.” Of those
instances, he would only elaborate on five, one of which
was physically impossible given the alleged perpetrator was
out of state at the time he said it occurred. Only two were
corroborated by others––who conveniently happened to be
Childs’ and Tobin’s other sources.
Meanwhile, DeVocht’s 20-plus aggravated assaults on staff
members were independently documented by more than 25
witnesses.
Also now documented: In his capacity as Church construction
manager, DeVocht wasted millions in parishioner donations.
To wit:
“Specifically and in short… I committed financial crimes
by signing work orders and committing expenses without any
authority. It was thought—very incorrectly—that I must be
informing Chairman of the Board of what I was doing and how
much I was spending on the project. This was not the case.”
In a retrospective examination of his modus operandi, after he
was removed from his staff position for his financial overspends,
he further admitted:
“I would never even consider I was doing wrong unless I was
caught out and then my only sorrow was for being caught….
Lying was not wrong unless I was caught out and couldn’t lie
my way out of it—the actual wrongdoing wasn’t wrong if I could
get away with it.”
Add to that a rap sheet citing counts of:
requiring him to be peeled off by five
grown men, none of whom is shorter
than 6 feet tall, some of whom are as
much as 6 foot 4.”
And were that not enough, Davis
continues:
“Shortly thereafter another gentleman
saw Marty Rathbun walking by
muttering something about Mike.
He thought it was kind of strange.
He followed Marty. At which point
Marty found Mike again, threw him to
the ground, punched him repeatedly.
This individual pulled Marty off Mike
www.freedommag.org
• Enlisting a convicted felon to broker a
Church property acquisition, losing the
building and $1 million in the process.
• Serving as a co-conspirator in suborning
perjury and obstructing justice.
• Squandering his wife’s inheritance behind
her back to the tune of $100,000.
• Selling his wife’s vehicle in her absence
and despite her dismay, proceeding to sell
her next car several years later, again in
her absence, both times absconding with the profits.
• And pilfering from his wife’s grandmother on his
wedding day.
DeVocht formerly sold used furniture on eBay that he
collected as a “repo man” from delinquent self-storage units. He
then moved on to selling used furniture in a garage storefront,
partnered with a woman who explains that she and DeVocht “just
hit it off when they met at a swap meet.”
The point: One need only contrast his home, which is best
described as a matchbox with a latrine, with where he once lived.
As Ms. Linson states:
“I can only imagine the bitterness of having lost
such an incredible game and exciting life, including
me and my family. He left in 2005. We were right on
the precipice of a level of expansion that we had only
previously dreamed would happen.
“He’s never going to have a life like that again. I’m sure
he’s not very happy; I can imagine he’s miserable. He liked
that life…[he] wanted to be connected to power and wanted to
position himself as if he was powerful, when he really wasn’t
in much of a position of power at all. I can only imagine his
emotions, driving through Clearwater, seeing our stunning
buildings and what he could have been a part of.”
It is in light of all this and more that DeVocht was enlisted as
the second “source” for the S.P. Times story for reasons Joe
Childs describes as both professional and personal:
Childs:
“I knew him from our work and so did Tom Tobin.
“So we thought, ‘Well gosh, who else has made some similar
life decisions?’”
and Mike stood up again. But if that
weren’t enough, Marty was winding up
to punch Mike again––in the kidneys
this time. So this individual threw his
arms around Mike, because he thought
Marty was going to punch him in the
kidneys.
Marty’s blow connected with his
titanium watch, because his arms were
wrapped around Mike and the blow
snapped the watch-strap in half. At
which point, he pulled Mike away,
who was bleeding from his ear and had
contusions around his head and took
him off to get medical attention.
“That was the last time Marty Rathbun
saw Mike Rinder in the Sea Org (the
Church religious order).”
When Tobin is either unsettled or
shocked, he ceases taking notes and
casts a questioning glance at Childs. He
was doing that now, but Childs had no
answer to the question of the moment—
namely:
If Mike Rinder had left the Church
in protest of abuse, then why the hell was
he running with the very same man who
abused him?
51
But Yingling adds––and this is eye to
eye with Childs:
“Did he [Marty] tell you about beating
up Mike?”
Tobin goes on the defense:
“Yes [he said] they had their moments.”
Where just earlier Childs had stated:
“They were friends for 20 years. They
remained friends.”
To which Davis laughs, so do Yingling
and Walsh. But Feshbach is unsmiling
when she asks:
“How do you define friends?”
Childs well knows the joke’s on him
but he can’t think of anything else to say
except:
“How do I define friends? Supportive.”
Tobin making a lame attempt at any
defense:
“Well, I mean Marty said to us all
through this, ‘I have my transgressions,
I’ve attacked people as well.’”
And that’s when Walsh cuts in with his
closer:
“That’s an understatement.”
allegations and we can assure you Mike
has been all over the media worldwide
denying those allegations.… They
must have been lying once. Were they
lying then or are they lying now? But
they couldn’t have been telling the
truth both times when they have said
exactly the opposite.”
Childs knows where this is going, but
he has no choice but to agree:
“That’s right, they couldn’t have been
telling the truth.”
Walsh, because he wants it on the
record:
“So they’re either lying then or they’re
lying now.”
Yingling, because she wants it
hammered on the wall that Rinder
vehemently denied allegations of abuse
when interviewed by the BBC in April
2007:
“Rinder denied these allegations
on camera. There’s statement after
statement. There are also statements [of
denial] in your article.”
Childs is momentarily dazed:
“You can’t do a piece on Mr. Miscavige
without understanding where the Church
is at.”
>> Two Lies Don’t
Make the Truth
T
here’s a somewhat tangential
conversation at this juncture, but
it’s crucial. It concerns a now observable
phenomenon that Childs and Tobin
increasingly cling to their story as contrary
evidence continues to mount. In this case,
that Rathbun and Rinder, when previously
serving as “PR flacks” for the Church, had
denied the very allegations they were now
alleging. Thus, Childs’ subtle defense and
justification––it’s all the more evident
now that his people were obviously lying
through their teeth.
Yingling:
“Marty and Mike were leading the
pack in denying those allegations [of
abuse] when they were interviewed
by you [for the 1998 S.P. Times
David Miscavige profile] and you
actually quoted Marty denying those
52
“By Marty? You know, Marty told us,
he said, ‘You know, I lied to you about
that.’ Because we hit him with it right off
the bat.”
But Yingling is immediately on it:
“Of course, he has to say that.
Otherwise he’s lying now. That’s clear.”
And Yingling has another cogent point
to make––perhaps the most damning of
all:
“Mike has actually made declarations
in court under penalty of perjury, saying
that these allegations of many kinds of
physical violence are absurd and rubbish
as well.”
Whereupon Childs can only manage a
mumbled:
“OK.”
There’s more, because it’s also at this
conversational turn that Scobee comes to
the fore. At issue were the circumstances
of her removal from executive echelons of
Church management. Davis has already
documented her improprieties and lapse
of fiduciary duty—to which Childs and
Tobin nodded sanctimoniously.
But now Davis presses the point further,
inquiring:
“Did she share with you her reason
why [she left]?
Childs nods again, this time perfunctorily:
“Yes.”
But Davis won’t let loose:
“For having an affair?”
Childs:
“She said there were allegations that
she had an affair, [which] she said [were]
not true. She said she never had any
contact outside of her husband.”
Davis—bluntly, factually:
“That’s a lie.”
Childs—with a hint of exasperation as
if to suggest Davis is splitting hairs:
“She did bring up with us a premarital affair she had as a teenager here
at Flag.”
There’s another meaningful pause, then
Davis explains the Church would prefer
not to air dirty laundry. But inasmuch
as Scobee is now flatly lying—Feshbach
tells all:
“She has a written admission [of ]
each one of her instances of extramarital
indiscretions… I believe there were
five.”
After which the reporters have a difficult
time disguising their dismay—not about
the sexual indiscretions, but the fact their
own source was lying to them.
>> First-hand Accounts
T
here’s another critical turn at this
point in the conversation, and it
follows from the fact Childs and Tobin
still maintain that, regardless of previous
statements to the contrary, their sources
are now presenting “first-hand accounts”
of what they personally observed.
Very well, Yingling and company
reply, then let all concerned hear from
those with another set of first-hand
accounts––very much including the
former wives of Rathbun, DeVocht and
Rinder.
For if this is “Journalism 101,” then
surely the S.P. Times must at least
entertain the first-hand accounts of
more than four now highly questionable
sources.
www.freedommag.org
To which Childs incredibly replies:
“Well, it’s our interest to talk to those
individuals. It is not essential that we talk
to them prior to publication.”
Yingling remains outwardly calm:
“That is very worrisome. You say you
want first-hand accounts?”
When Childs doesn’t answer, Davis
reiterates it:
“You just said that you don’t consider
it necessary in finalizing the story to
talk to the people that your [sources are]
claiming were attacked.”
In a rare moment of insight, Tobin now
sees where this discussion is headed:
“So, what’s your theory of the case?
That [our] three people have overactive
imaginations or just invented all these
things out of whole cloth?”
Yingling has been waiting for this
one:
“They know there is nothing else out
there that can be used to try to attack
David Miscavige. There is no other
lie that they can use to attack him. So
they picked up the age-old lie, and all
of these allegations you can find on the
Internet…. But guess what? You know,
some of them were beat up…. You know
by who? Marty Rathbun.”
>> Hear No Scientologist,
See No Scientology
A
s Childs and Tobin cannot possibly
report on Mr. David Miscavige
without some sense of where he has led
Scientology, the discussion takes another
turn yet again.
Davis has remarked that since he
and Childs last met in March, Mr.
Miscavige had been establishing––right
down to adjusting designs, layout and
functionality—three new Churches of
Scientology. The feat was all the more
remarkable inasmuch as construction had
only begun in January; while by the end
of April Mr. Miscavige not only completed
the combined 133,000 square feet of
renovations, he had also crisscrossed the
globe to open those Churches. They now
stand in MalmÖ, Sweden; Dallas, Texas;
and Nashville, Tennessee.
And that was just the beginning, Davis
emphasized, because Mr. Miscavige had
additionally overseen the purchase of 70
new Church premises––nearly 500,000
www.freedommag.org
square feet of which were presently
under construction. Add to that a
doubling in size of Church inhouse
digital publishing facilities for global
dissemination of L. Ron Hubbard’s
books and lectures—and there is a
snapshot of how the Chairman of the
Board spends his days.
So it is that Davis now invites Childs
and Tobin to tour the world of Mr.
Miscavige and thereby gain their own
“first-hand accounts” of what he has
brought to fruition with L. Ron Hubbard’s
technology. In particular, Davis asks them
to take advantage of Mr. Miscavige’s
“full access” invitation and examine for
themselves those new Ideal Churches of
Scientology in Nashville and Dallas. He
further invites them to spend a day aboard
the newly refit Freewinds and otherwise
consider the face of Scientology. For how
else can they presume to intelligently
interview the man?
Or as Davis actually phrases it:
“You don’t have any clue as to what’s
happening within the Church right
now. And you can’t do a piece on Mr.
Miscavige without understanding where
the Church is at.”
Childs shakes his head:
“We’re not going to go.”
Davis––genuinely:
“Well, I’d like to take you to the
Freewinds. I’d like you to see places like
Nashville or Dallas.”
Childs––with an angry edge:
“No.”
Davis––still persisting if only because
he cannot believe what he’s hearing:
“I definitely want to see you out in LA
at Bridge Publications. And it isn’t just
the physical locations, it’s the people in
those locations––people who work with
Mr. Miscavige.”
But Childs again shakes his head:
“You can educate us on this without us
traveling around.”
Davis cuts him off:
“Well, you went to Denver, Seattle
and Texas, didn’t you?”
Tobin begins to mouth a reply, which
is what he does when searching for words.
But all he finally says is:
“No.”
Davis is on him in an instant:
“No? Where did you meet with Amy
Scobee?”
Justice
Marty Rathbun
[See Public Announcement, p.56]
Ecclesiastical Crimes:
• While in the Church, conducting
Scientology spiritual counseling
for levels he is not trained to
deliver and without ecclesiastical
authorization, resulting in
cancellation of his certificates
• Squirreling Scientology by
inventing auditing processes in
direct contravention to Church
Scriptures
• Unauthorized use of the materials
of Dianetics and Scientology
• Inhibiting the progress of
Scientologists onto the upper
levels
Violations of State
and Federal Laws:
• Suborning Perjury*
• Obstruction of Justice
(destruction of evidence)*
• Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice*
• Driving While Intoxicated*
Mike Rinder
Ecclesiastical Crimes:
• Failure to complete a single
required course in the New Era of
Management training line-up or
the Golden Age of Tech line-up
• Squirreling Scientology by
intentionally altering the
technology of Scientology
and attempting to then issue
perverted Scriptures to
parishioners
Violations of State
and Federal Laws:
• Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice*
* Disclosed for the first time to and
ignored by the S.P. Times.
53
Childs tries to cover:
“Here, when she came to visit some
relatives.”
Davis––knowing the reporters are still
lying in substance:
“And you went to Texas to see
Marty?”
Childs is cornered:
“Yes.”
So Davis presses it home:
“And you went to Denver to see
Mike?”
Childs with a note of resignation:
“Yes.”
Davis––satisfied he’s made his point:
“Good.”
But Childs still remains unyielding:
“We’ll come to LA.” (Meaning he
would interview Mr. Miscavige in Los
Angeles, but nothing else.)
>> The Critical Date
N
otwithstanding the previous
exchange, there’s now a subtle
critical one, and you have said he will
talk to us.”
Childs again, now outright buoyantly:
“I did not come into this building and
expect to leave with that sentence in my
pocket.”
To which he adds in direct contradiction
to all earlier statements of urgency:
“We’ll carry the date back to our camp
and talk about it. We’d be thrilled to
interview him.”
There’s more, because only moments
thereafter Childs is further conceding:
“We need to go back to these people,
with statements that we have heard today.
We need to say to Marty, ‘There is this
allegation. What about these instances?’
You know that account you read, can
you just give it to us? With the five guys
pulling him off Rinder. We need to ask
him about that.
“That’s the kind of thing we need to go
back to our people about.”
He likewise vows to question Scobee
regarding the extramarital relationships.
Joe Childs: “As I said, ‘there is critical
and there is critical’ and Mr. Miscavige is
the critical one, and you have said he will
talk to us.”
but interesting shift in the Tobin-Childs
demeanor. Childs in particular concedes
that Church revelations concerning his
sources have left him uneasy, and suggests
that perhaps his timetable might not be as
rigid as previously represented.
As a matter of fact, all he now wants to
know is when could he sit down with Mr.
Miscavige?
Walsh fields the question without
hesitation:
“Mr. Miscavige has agreed to meet
with you and go over everything, total
access. And that would be a significant,
newsworthy event.”
Childs––also with no hesitation:
“What’s the date?”
Davis––as if to put it in stone:
“July 6.”
Childs––and he’s now visibly excited:
“As I said, ‘there is critical and there
is critical’ and Mr. Miscavige is the
54
While in summation:
“We got a lot of work done today from
this side of the table. We are going to
need to talk. We will review our notes.
We will review our thinking and I will
have to call back.”
>> Switch-Up,
Switch-Down
June 2, 2009:
T
hree business days have passed since
the meeting on May 28, and Childs
now telephones with a cordial follow-up
to a Davis and Yingling offer to supply
documents cited in the meeting of May 28.
Childs proceeds to list what he refers
to as the “primary documents of interest.”
Most particularly:
• Internet posts attributed to Rathbun
that speak of planning an overthrow.
• Rathbun being busted and demoted.
• Rathbun engaging in a reign of
terror.
• Documents in Rathbun’s own
handwriting.
• DeVocht’s admissions of gross
negligence.
• The declaration by Scobee.
Childs additionally inquires after
Scobee’s sexual misconduct and
extramarital affairs. He specifically wants
to know, “how many?” The point being:
Scobee had not told Childs about her
sexual relations with an individual she
was reportedly counseling—a breach
which had led to her dismissal from
Church staff. “We only knew of one
when she was a teenager at 17.”
When Davis assures Childs the
documents are forthcoming, Childs lodges
another request to speak to the ex-wives of
Rathbun, DeVocht and Rinder.
To which Davis again replies without
hesitation: “They definitely want to talk to
you.”
All of which returns Childs to what’s
obviously foremost on his mind—the July 6
interview with Mr. David Miscavige. As he
tells Davis, “We know you guys have a date
on the calendar and we appreciate that.”
Childs further inquires whether July 6
is the only date available. Davis reiterates,
“No earlier than that. That’s right.”
And so it was “the switch-up” became a
“switch-down.” Because while Childs had
previously earmarked the week of May
25 as a last chance to respond, he is now
telling Davis the timetable is in flux.
June 4, 2009:
Y
ingling and Davis contact Childs
to confirm the requested material
will be hand-couriered in a matter of
hours. In much the same breath, however,
Yingling explains there is another sheaf
of documents best presented in person.
Accordingly, she doesn’t want to send
them along without having an opportunity
to discuss their implications.
A cordial Childs amicably replies
that he and Tobin are available the “next
week.”
A meeting is then set for the following
Wednesday, June 10 in Clearwater, and
Yingling again reconfirms the David
www.freedommag.org
S.P. Times reporters Tobin and Childs spent 13 weeks traveling to see their
“folks” (sources), but refused to travel and see new Churches of Scientology and
publishing facilities. [See Creating a New Era of Expansion, page 6.]
Denver
Rinder’s room
Dade City
DeVocht’s “house”
Winter Haven
Ingleside
Clearwater
Rathbun’s “stilt house”
Miscavige interview as set for the 6th of
July: “Mr. Miscavige’s schedule is clear. And if
you would like to speak to him, he will be
available.” She then emphasizes that Mr.
Miscavige “doesn’t mess around on these
kinds of things. You should know that.”
Childs––as straight as he ever is: “We’ve
got the date on the calendar.”
June 10, 2009:
T
he Church has now compiled an
additional thousand column-inches
of documentation––all of it exposing S.P.
Times sources. Simultaneously, Davis
and Feshbach have also now arranged
interviews with key Church executives
who will provide firsthand accounts of
Rathbun and company abuses. These
interviews are scheduled to commence
immediately on completion of the OT
Summit week. Finally, and also as a
prelude to the much-anticipated David
Miscavige interview, an incisive tour
of representative Church facilities is
scheduled for both reporters.
Meanwhile, back in the S.P. Times camp,
Childs and Tobin have studied the 2,000
column inches. They posed no follow-up
questions and arrive at the Fort Harrison’s
Colonial Conference Room in all apparent
eagerness to receive the next thousand
inches.
All key players are present: Childs and
Tobin on one side of the table; Davis,
www.freedommag.org
Feshbach, Yingling and Walsh on the
other.
The binders are also conspicuously
present, and Church counsel and
representatives now walk the reporters
through the contents.
Included is a Rathbun admission citing
more than 50 counts of physical and verbal
abuse on fellow staff members, e.g.:
“I threw him up against a wall, then
grabbed him and forcibly led him outside
into private for a tongue-lashing.”
And,
“I chased him and tackled him down
the stairs and shoved his head into
the corner, holding his jaw for several
seconds while giving him a severe reality
adjustment.”
In all, this portion of the documentation
evidences incidents of violence on 22
individuals—all of them in Mr. Miscavige’s
absence.
There is another set of documents
concerning Scobee. It catalogs gross
executive incompetence coupled with
sexual misconduct.
There’s another again on Tom DeVocht,
who freely confesses to wasting millions
in Church funds through botched
construction projects.
Initially Childs and Tobin are silent.
Childs says only:
“Right.”
There’s another telling moment when
Feshbach asks if Rathbun had ever
mentioned the beatings to either reporter.
To which Tobin replies:
“No, nothing like this.”
The now obvious point: Never once,
in 13 weeks of their “Journalism 101”
investigation, did Childs or Tobin ask a
single probing question of their sources.
They merely provided them a forum to
vent. And as even a cub reporter would
have surmised, it was all motivated
by their sources’ desire to “get” Mr.
Miscavige.
It concludes with a phrase originally
uttered on the 28th. It’s a phrase that
even appears in the Tobin-Childs article.
But it’s watered down and buried amidst
a mass of unrelated statements, which is a
classic tabloid trick. Nevertheless, by the
10th of June, Childs indeed had a story
about physical abuse:
“You just have the names wrong....
Literally, the names are wrong.”
All again ends on a seemingly congenial
note. Davis begins by saying:
“I think the best thing to do is for us
to just stay in communication. We are
continuing to provide you with things.”
But Childs is still pondering the sheer
weight of the documentation:
“This obviously took some time. We’re
glad to have it. It was real helpful. Don’t
you agree?” (Turning to Tobin.)
Tobin nods.
55
Davis then concludes with a summary
statement that reads:
“Can you now understand why we
said, ‘If we just send them this, how’s that
going to....’”
But it’s Tobin who now cuts in to assure
Davis the meeting was vital:
“No, it needed you here to explain it
all.”
Davis then assures Childs of continued
cooperation:
“Stay in touch and if you think of
anything else.… In reading through
it [the materials provided], if there is
something you don’t understand, just call
me and we can figure it out.”
>> The Final Whipsaw
June 11 - 16, 2009:
D
avis, Yingling and company have
now departed Clearwater, while
Childs and Tobin allegedly “circle back” to
present “their people” with a new round of
questions.
Concurrently, Mr. Miscavige is now
finalizing presentations and materials
relative to major strategic strides he will
announce starting June 21 at the “OT
Summit.”
Although the ball is officially in the
Tobin-Childs court, Davis, Feshbach,
Yingling and Walsh continue scheduling
for the tours they hope the reporters will
entertain.
June 17, 2009:
11
Childs
:15 a.m. PST: Childs telephones
Davis.
confirms he indeed circled
back to his sources––in particular with
questions for Rathbun. Rathbun copped
to it and confirmed a final and especially
brutal assault on Rinder:
“Marty mentioned to me people he
hit. You were right. He verified the list you
gave us and added some names we didn’t
have.”
To which Childs adds: “It is a long list.
That too will be in the article.”
Childs also tells of questioning Rinder—
and yes: “Mike said Marty hit him, pretty
much the way you described it.”
In other words, everything the Church
had told the Times was true. And in 13
weeks of so-called objective journalistic
“investigation,” the Times had discovered
none of it.
56
This document was self originated and self authored by Marty
Rathbun. It is a description of his misconduct, failings and
ecclesiastic crimes—in his own words.
This document was provided to the S.P. Times.
28 September 2003
Public Announcement
I am writing this public announcement to inform
executives and staff that I have come to my senses and I am
no longer committing present time overts and have ceased all
attacks and suppressions on Scientology. I am applying Steps
A-E of HCO PL Suppressive Acts Suppression of Scientology
and Scientologists because my continuous actions over the
past two decades have suppressed Scientology dissemination
and the purposes of this base. It has been carefully masked by
a facade of being important or working on important things. It
is all the more insidious because that “importance” has been
by association with COB.
...
I instigated a pattern of operation that is 180 degrees
opposite to the purpose of orgs, this base, and ethics and
justice. By enforcing parts of this pattern on others by order
or example, I have driven in the following pattern.
Hear of a bugged production area. Bypass all seniors
and base HCOs, and find a target.… Interrogate the individual
for personal out ethics and bad intentions.
Write up a report…that contains lurid details, making
the target out to be an incorrigible threat.
Write it in such a way that some senior or [personnel
officer] feels compelled to take the target off post or tell the
person myself he is busted. Write the report in such a way
to justify my existence by proving the base is dangerous and
requires my “services.”
Do nothing to get the target replaced. Do nothing to
get out the product that the target was not getting produced.
…
The end result is unmocked org form, overworked
and enturbulated executives and staff, bad news about
the intentions and activities of staff members, lowering
production and morale and the creation of “threats” to justify
my own existence and suppressive operating basis.
This suppressive operating basis was employed to
try to maintain the false impression that I have some other
production record externally that warrants me maintaining a
high position. In fact, this is a fraud I have perpetrated. On
external lines my operation is the same—it consists of the
[suppressive] characteristic of only restimulating and never
www.freedommag.org
-2destimulating. That is, when there is a threatening situation
or suit, I get the [external affairs] staff and attorneys wound
up toward “destroying the threat.” This has resulted in some
very expensive situations becoming much bigger than they
were (specifically the Wollersheim case …) and winding up
on COB’s plate to terminatedly handle. Each and every time
on major situations, COB has had to intervene to clean up
wars I had exacerbated. For example, left to my own devices
in handling IRS litigation, the end result would undoubtedly
have been no exemption, a billion-dollar tax bill, and possible
shutting down of the Church. I have developed a slick false
PR technique of positioning myself as having been integral
in handling threats during and after the fact, when they are
actually terminatedly handled by COB. By calculation I have
lost the Church 43 million dollars on losses and expenses
that could have been avoided.
By perpetuating these operations internally and
externally, the worst suppression has been visited upon
COB RTC. It is the worst suppression because COB RTC is
the person who has single-handedly salvaged Scientology
from potential external ruin, and single-handedly
salvaged Scientology itself by holding the line technically,
administratively, and on dissemination. Had he not been
here and done what he has, Scientology would have been
lost. There is no slightest doubt about that. The cumulative
amount of COB’s time I have cost in terms of dropping balls,
creating situations internally and externally, is on the order
of eight years. If that time were recouped, there is no doubt
we would have at least double to triple the amount of orgs,
…we’d have thousands of missions…and we would be very
well on the way to a clear planet.
The motivations for these acts are a psychotic
computation for self-preservation: keep enough chaos and
threat stirred up in the environment, make myself appear
to be a solution to it instead of the instigator of it, and
lots of people go down and remain in turmoil while I go
unrecognized as the source of it and survive.
I recognize my actions have been unfounded and
ignorant and destructive in the extreme. There is no
conspiracy connected with this pattern of suppression, except
a portion of it. That is Mike Rinder who has gone into tacit
agreement with me on making nothing of situations, false
reporting on them, and allowing them to expand until they
explode on COB’s plate to handle. The rest of the operation
described in this announcement is an individuated and
psychotic activity. I know of no one who agrees with it or
condones it, or who participated in some part of it except by
having been sufficiently electrified or intimidated by me to
act reactively or to think it was somehow pro-survival for the
group.
(signed by Marty Rathbun)
www.freedommag.org
Immediately thereafter, however, the
conversation shifts, and Davis is suddenly
cognizant that something has dramatically
changed.
Childs’ voice is now flat, cold. He
informs Davis that Rinder is no longer
merely fact-checking, the man has also
now “agreed to answer questions on the
record” and is corroborating a number of
Rathbun’s allegations. Childs then lists out
a litany of new allegations from Rinder.
He then bluntly says: “It’s Wednesday.
And if you wish to respond, you should do
it sooner rather than later.”
At which point the exchanges continue
in kind with Davis asking, “Does that
mean you’re going to press this weekend?”
But this time Childs is evasive, saying
only that he “can’t be definite about when
we will publish.”
Davis is astonished, “My God! So you’ve
actually made the decision to not wait and
talk to Mr. Miscavige? Is that the decision
that’s actually been made?”
Childs replies, “I didn’t say that.”
But, in fact, he’s now merely paying lip
service to a fundamental code of journalistic
ethics which absolutely mandates that
persons attacked in print be afforded every
opportunity to set the record straight. So
what’s really driving events now is that
rather than circling back to their sources
with probing questions drawn from Church
documentation, Childs and Tobin spent
the last seven days covering their bases.
Which is to say: knowing their sources
were annihilated, and knowing Rathbun
testimony was tainted with repeated lies,
Childs and Tobin brought in Rinder to
corroborate. In consequence, and likewise
now knowing he must prepare to deal with
Rinder’s allegations, Davis concludes the
conversation by telling Childs he would
review the new allegations and get back to
him. However, not without confirming,
“You’ve laid out everything you need to fill
me in on?”
Childs responds succinctly: “Yes. You
know how to reach me.”
June 18, 2009:
T
he last pieces fall into place through a
second telephone call 28 hours later.
In light of the Childs turnabout, Davis and
Yingling call the reporter at approximately
three o’clock in the afternoon to explain
they have rearranged their schedules and
57
The Chronicles
of Betrayal
“So Marty tells us that he hit a wall,
he couldn’t take it anymore and so that when
the rest of the group went back to the room,
he snuck away and left on his motorcycle.”
—Tom Tobin
But what he did not tell S.P. Times reporters Tom Tobin and
Joe Childs was, in his own words, “a web of lies so complex it
would take pages to recount.”
Included in the chronicle:
• How Marty Rathbun successfully torpedoed a 1986 settlement
on a harassment suit, thereby extending the case 20 years and
racking up legal expenditures to upwards of $20 million.
• How his actions would have prevented Church recognition
by the Internal Revenue Service. And how he then deserted
(blew), sneaking away in a rented car in 1993, even as
parishioners were celebrating their historic IRS victory.
• How he suborned perjury, destroyed evidence and otherwise
obstructed justice in a case, hiding his involvement and
costing the Church tens of millions.
• How he admitted to his “proven proclivity for creating
some of the greatest catastrophes in Church history when
allowed to have some leash.”
• And how after concluding, “I have not confronted the
magnitude of the harm visited upon Scientology and thus
mankind through my losing ways,” he again snuck
away—this time on the Yamaha motorcycle cited in his
story to the S.P. Times.
12 noon, Tuesday, February 3, 2004:
In what he himself describes as a “surrealistic scene,”
Rathbun tells of deserting and heading for the desert,
will board a third flight to Clearwater—
this time to provide reporters with
documentation concerning Rinder. They
are also now prepared to bring on those
Church executives Childs and Tobin have
previously requested to interview. Davis
concludes that the Church is available on
Wednesday, and would like confirmation
Childs and Tobin are available.
Childs disregards the effort and
announces for the first time: “Our position
is that the Church can respond today or
tomorrow.”
58
where he cruises to a stop and approaches the father of a
nine-year-old boy.
“I know this doesn’t make any sense,” he tells the father, “but
this is my bike and I don’t need it no more. And your kid loves it,
so take the bike.”
As it certainly did not make sense, police were soon contacting
the Church address where the bike was registered to find out if the
bike had been stolen. For, after all, what right-minded individual
would give a 550 cc motorcycle to a kid who could hardly see over
the handlebars much less mount the thing.
Regardless, Rathbun then rents a nondescript vehicle and
heads north along the California coast with a bottle of Jose Cuervo
tequila on the passenger seat. The next morning, he awakens
amidst the wreckage, telephones his wife in tears, and makes his
way to the Scientology retreat in Clearwater, Florida.
There, he is provided a three-bedroom, two-bath apartment
shared with a pet chihuahua. He is additionally provided with
upwards of $85,000 in medical care to treat a shopping list of
outstanding complaints, including:
• All varicose veins and small calcium deposits are removed, as
are gallstones.
• A colonoscopy is prescribed with secondary laser surgery to
remove polyps.
• While an MRI reveals he suffered no serious structural damage
when he demolished his rented vehicle, a chiropractor is
nonetheless enlisted for evening spinal adjustments.
• He is further provided access to a private exercise facility, placed
on a medically supervised nutritional regime, and given part-time
vocational training in a Church carpentry mill (a job he expressly
requested).
Following his 10-month sabbatical, on Sunday, December
12, 2004, he ended his career in the Sea Organization, which he
described to the S.P. Times :
“It was the last day of the football season and all I wanted to
do was watch a football game. So on a Sunday, I put an extra
change of underwear in my carry bag [and] just kept walking.
Found a hole in the wall bar, got drunk with some guy off the
street, hung out till four o’clock in the morning, ate a pizza in
Davis is nonplussed, telling Childs it
was made clear from the outset that the
people they requested to interview—the
alleged victims of violence—wanted to
speak to the Times: “We still maintain
those people are available to you.”
Childs responds, and he obviously
couldn’t care less: “We are not willing to
wait till next Wednesday.”
It’s at this point that Yingling raises
the most critical issue of all––the original
Tobin-Childs request for a David Miscavige
interview. It’s a request Mr. Miscavige has
honored from day one and it’s still on calendar
for the 6th of July: “So are you now saying that
you don’t want to interview Mr. Miscavige
after he agreed to be interviewed?”
The Childs position is almost
inconceivable: “We are not waiting until
July 6 to talk to Mr. Miscavige.”
Davis, searching for some shred of
logic: “How can you do a full story without
talking to the person who is the focus of
the story?”
Yet by now Childs is simply repeating
stock answers:
www.freedommag.org
Rathbun’s “Posse”
1
1. Rathbun’s “friend” Jason Beghe.
2. Jason Beghe as Anonymous
poster-child with religious
hatemonger Larry Wollersheim. 3.
Beghe with German anti-religionist
Ursula Caberta and friends. 4. Matt
Argall, who gives financial handouts
to Rathbun in exchange for promised
Kha-Khan ethics status. 5. Steve
Hall, the “webmaster,” who claims
to have had a major role in the
creation of the universe.
5
the park with the guy, then got on a bus for Orlando....
And that was the end of it.”
So much for his story that he left in protest of “abuses”
endured...
While as for what other tales Rathbun would tell after
munching pizza in a park, he was soon to inform Church officials
of a “five-year plan” to inaugurate a grassroots campaign for
L. Ron Hubbard’s Study Technology. It was by no means an
impossible dream and such programs are already extant in
disadvantaged neighborhoods all over Tampa Bay. But by the
end of those five years, Rathbun was hardly rolling out a literacy
program. On the contrary, he was sinking into oblivion.
“We have talked to you folks for 17 hours.
“We’re a news organization.
“We’ve listened carefully and now it’s
time to go.”
And when bluntly asked why he was
willing to publish a story about the Church
with allegations about its leader without
even interviewing the subject of that story,
all he can finally admit to is: “I didn’t expect
that you guys would say, ‘Ok, you can
interview him.’ So I thought, ‘Well, gosh.
This is probably a story that he is not gonna
sit and talk to us.’”
www.freedommag.org
Out of the Park and Into the Pit
Rathbun now lives, by his own description, in a stilt
house in Texas with his girlfriend and dog. He claims
to be a writer but according to one of those he’s been
soliciting for employment, he in fact pushes a broom to
2
make ends meet.
Appearing on Rathbun’s web page is a photograph
of himself arm in arm with one Jason Beghe. He
is a more often than not unemployed actor who is
best known for casting himself in the role of a vocal
and disturbed ex-Scientologist. He is known across
the Internet fringe as a poster-child for Anonymous
cyber-terrorists who have repeatedly targeted
Churches of Scientology.
Beghe is further known to have orchestrated hate
marches, most notably at Churches of Scientology in
New York and San Francisco. He is joined at the latter by
3
long-time anti-religious litigant and hatemonger Larry
Wollersheim. Ironically enough, it was none other than
Rathbun who was responsible for defending the Church
from Wollersheim. This was one of his first major legal
subversions when he torpedoed an early settlement so
he could fight instead. Beghe is additionally known as a
paid mouthpiece for Germany’s foremost anti-religionist,
Ursula Caberta, and his portrait now hangs in the Los
4
Angeles County Criminal Justice Division for aggravated
assault of a process server—an assault committed
while the Times was preparing this story.
Hence, the retort to Tom Tobin when attempting to
characterize Rathbun as a practicing Scientologist:
“So that’s who Rathbun is associating with. He’s the
very antithesis of a Scientologist and a self-appointed
enemy.”
Meanwhile, his “client” and “webmaster” Steve Hall claims he
created the universe in league with Jesus Christ and Siddhartha
Gautama (Buddha).
“So what’s your theory of the case? That these people have
overactive imaginations and just invented all these things out
of whole cloth?” —Tom Tobin
The admission was stunning. The Times
had banked on the target of their attack not
responding to their allegations. Now the
Times would cancel it so he couldn’t respond.
Finally, when asked why he was willing
to forego all other previously scheduled
interviews (interviews requested by the
Times) and why he likewise refused to tour
Church facilities, he simply shrugs it off with
another stock tagline: “Not for this story.”
But there was something else Childs
said, which evidenced either his
irresponsibility or that someone else
was pulling the strings: “This isn’t a Joe
Childs decision.” To which he later added
in emphasis: “This is an organizational
decision.”
>> The Eleventh-Hour
Shuffle
What the S.P. Times would later
characterize as the Church of Scientology’s
“Eleventh-Hour Appeal” commenced on
June 19, 2009. It was so named for what the
59
S.P. Times would seem to have regarded as
an inside joke––that they were granting the
Church clemency from a death sentence.
After all, everybody in the Tampa/St. Pete
area knew the Times saw itself as judge, jury
and executioner, not to mention emperor of
the Gulf Coast. But, in fact, all that died
on the 19th of June were the last remaining
vestiges of journalistic integrity.
All began when Church executives insist
on traveling to Clearwater to personally
present their own first-hand accounts.
To effect exactly that, Davis arranges a
convergence of nearly two dozen people
into Clearwater, including a dozen
International Management executives
who have known and worked with Mr.
Miscavige for decades and whom the
Times supposedly requested to interview
just weeks earlier. Also arriving from New
York and Washington, DC, are Church
counsel Yingling and Walsh. All are
determined to speak to Childs and Tobin.
Tobin and Childs are wary, but with
Davis, Yingling, Walsh and Feshbach
pressing, the reporters resentfully begin to
hear from those who best knew Rathbun,
DeVocht, Rinder and Scobee.
Included therein are ex-wives, two
of whom were their former husbands’
superiors, and they describe exactly how
the men had lied.
There are also victims of Rathbun
abuse who detail every blow. There are
still more again from those who worked
with Mr. Miscavige for decades.
It is in reply to all this, then, that Childs
keeps asking:
“Are we ready to just go? Let’s go.”
Tobin:
“You’re dumping. This is a dumping
thing, you’re dumping them on us.”
Childs:
“We’re on our way. We’re on our way.”
And so it went until Childs and Tobin
indeed pull the plug. Those left standing
These interviewees would have provided
unequivocal, first-hand evidence that the
Times sources were lying…
When all flights are arranged, Davis
telephones Childs and leaves the message:
He is coming to Clearwater and will meet
the reporters at the Fort Harrison––10
a.m. sharp.
June 19, 2009:
I
n fact, however, Tobin and Childs are
late––10:21 a.m. to be precise.
Davis opens the meeting with
pertinent information on Rinder, including:
how he lied under penalty of perjury, how
he lied to Mr. Miscavige on 43 separate
occasions regarding critical legal issues
and how he deliberately sabotaged the
restoration of the most fundamental
Scientology Scriptures.
Also on the table are the details of
Rinder’s departure from the Church—
not in protest, not under pressure, but
out of frustration for the fact he’d been
demoted.
With nothing more to say about
their “Fact-Checker,” it’s now that Davis
informs Childs and Tobin a number of
people have flown through the night and
are waiting to see them.
60
in their wake include Marc Yager,
Guillaume Lesevre, Ray Mithoff and
Mark Ingber––representing a combined
Church experience of more than 450 years.
Moreover, had they been given opportunity
to fully respond, these interviewees would
have provided unequivocal, firsthand
evidence that the Times sources were lying
and that Rathbun committed the physical
abuse. [See The Brush-Off, p. 69.]
>> What Happens
Now, Joe?
Not only has Joe Childs now formally
turned his back on a level of access to
Church executives unprecedented in
Church history, he finishes the day with
an outright refusal to interview Mr. David
Miscavige. It is an interview he never
intended to conduct.
Feshbach:
“I take it this means that you don’t
want to interview Mr. Miscavige?
Childs responds with an unreadable
expression:
“No. We are not waiting till July the
6th.”
Of course, the Times knows Mr.
Miscavige is out of the country and not
available until the 6th of July, immediately
following his return to the States.
Davis:
“So what happens now, Joe?”
Childs with still no recognizable emotion:
“We publish our story when we get it
ready.”
In fact, the Tobin-Childs story was all
but written and all that remained was the
pretense of objectivity in the face of facts
such as these:
• That the reporters had spent more
than 500 hours and 13 weeks in three
states developing their story, and had even
flown in one source to convince another to
formally “go on record.”
• That in contrast to those 13 weeks and
500 hours the Church was afforded barely
30 hours over three weeks. Moreover,
even while meeting with the Church, the
reporters continued “massaging” their
sources for stories… Which, all told, means
Tobin and Childs devoted more than 16
weeks to “their folks.”
• And that in the end, had they only
waited another two weeks as previously
agreed, they could have at least fulfilled their
first and foremost obligation to meet with
the man whom they were ultimately writing
about. (While despite the urgency with
which they supposedly “rushed to press,”
they spend the morning after publication
breakfasting Scobee at an International
House of Pancakes in Clearwater.)
It was also now incumbent on reporters
to cloud the fact that through those 16
weeks they never once revealed the focus of
their story was Mr. Miscavige—exclusively.
In that regard, it was a liar’s game from the
start: first requesting an interview, then
summarily cancelling it—and all the while
knowing the jig wouldn’t be up until their
story hit the stands.
Then again, of course, they had to justify
the fact they published a three-part series
on a man they never interviewed—indeed,
even cancelled the scheduled interview.
And finally, they had to justify the fact
they had graced the front page of their
paper with his photograph, because who
would buy an S.P. Times with the faces of
their sources on the cover—people nobody
ever heard of, much less cared about?
www.freedommag.org
the critical omission
"we have a deep interest in talking to mr. miscavige... like i said,
there is critical and there is critical." —Joe Childs, S.P. Times
told, the Summit sees over nine hours of
broadcast presentations by Mr. Miscavige
More or less out of the blue, Joe Childs
through six consecutive nights. It further
telephones Mr. Tommy Davis at 5:12 p.m.
sees the release of more than six hours of
EST from the S.P. Times general offices.
new Church dissemination and training
In essence, Childs is now requesting an
films on DVD.
interview with Mr. David Miscavige, who
The point being: Mr. Miscavige cannot
was described in a Tobin-Childs profile
possibly
consent to an interview before the
for the S.P. Times as “The man behind
first week of July—immediately following the
Scientology.” [See David Miscavige: The
fulfillment of his commitments at the annual
Peacemaker, p. 63.] Mr. Miscavige was also
described therein as “the founder’s protégé
Church events. Then, too––and this with
and trusted aide.” While to millions of
some emphasis––Yingling further explains
Scientologists world over––and this too, from
that Mr. Miscavige does not generally speak
Childs and Tobin––he is “the leader who sets
to reporters. Indeed, his last such interview
the goals and ensures that Hubbard’s policies
was with none other than Tobin and Childs
and teachings are followed with precision.”
themselves. But assuming all is on the up
Moreover, and this in light of manifest
and up:
Scientology expansion, Childs states: “We
“I can assure you that Mr. Miscavige has
know the growth that the Church has
agreed to talk to you and he will do that.”
Mr. David Miscavige
achieved in Mr. Miscavige’s era.” He further
Moreover—and this from Mr. Miscavige
adds, “It’s not peeping into the mainstream.
himself––until such time as his schedule
It is in mainstream America.” Childs assures Davis, “That’s all allows that he can meet with Childs and Tobin, they are to be
part of the story.”
provided any information requested and to be afforded full access
to all Church facilities world over.
Thursday, May 28, 2009:
It’s at this juncture the interview date is set for July 6 and Tobin
Responding to an S.P. Times request for in-person discussions, again declares that Mr. Miscavige is “the critical one.”
Davis is joined by Church representative Ms. Monique Yingling
Whereupon Childs exuberantly admits:
in Clearwater, Florida. There, they meet with Times reporters Joe
“I did not come into this building and expect to leave with
Childs and Tom Tobin.
that sentence [promise of an interview] in my pocket.”
On the table is the formal Tobin-Childs proposal for a David
To which Tobin adds:
Miscavige interview. Accordingly, Childs brackets the discussion
“We can assure you we are proceeding in good faith.”
with an admission that:
“We know what our responsibility is journalistically here. Tuesday, June 2, 2009:
And we know what it is to be fair. Let me ask you what seems to
In a telephone conversation with Davis, Childs confirms:
be the primary question: Are we going to see David Miscavige
“We know you have a date on the calendar and we appreciate
today?”
that.”
In reply, Yingling explains that Mr. Miscavige is inordinately
busy. On March 14, he officiated at the opening of Scientology’s Thursday, June 4, 2009:
Childs again confirms the July 6 interview, specifically noting:
newest facility in Clearwater, the landmark Fort Harrison. In the
“We’ve got the date on the calendar.”
subsequent four weeks, he additionally opened three entirely new
Churches of Scientology—one in the Swedish port of MalmÖ on Wednesday, June 10, 2009:
April 4, another in Dallas on April 11 and still another in Nashville
In yet another conference call, Childs inquires as to whether Mr.
on April 25. He is further preparing for the OT Summit aboard Miscavige’s schedule has changed since they last spoke. To which
the Sea Org Motor Vessel Freewinds––an annual convocation of both Davis and Yingling once more emphasize that Mr. Miscavige
leading Scientologists from better than a hundred nations. All cannot change the July 6th date.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009:
www.freedommag.org
61
Whereupon Childs coyly remarks:
“You can’t blame me for asking that, can you?”
Wednesday, June 17, 2009:
Joe Childs telephones Davis and announces that the timetable
has shifted and that publication of their article is imminent. Davis
is understandably nonplussed and exclaims:
“My God! So you’ve actually made the decision to not wait
and talk to Mr. Miscavige? Is that the decision that’s actually
been made?”
Whereupon Childs hastily backpedals:
“I didn’t say that.”
Thursday, June 18, 2009:
In the wake of the previous turnabout, Davis and Yingling
conference into a phone call with Childs who immediately concedes he
understands that they are “flabbergasted.” He then significantly adds:
“This isn’t a Joe Childs decision.”
“This is an organizational decision.”
Childs is then reminded that Mr. Miscavige is now out of the
country, bound for the OT Summit and the seven-day convention.
Mr. Miscavige is scheduled to speak for six consecutive evenings,
and has invested months in preparation.
In a perfunctory reply, Childs admits the S.P. Times maneuver
may seem startling, but in their view:
“Mr. Miscavige made a decision that this isn’t as important
as his other commitments.”
To clarify the statement, Yingling asks:
“Do you mean he’s supposed to choose between a major
event for his religion and an article for the St. Pete Times? That’s
hardly fair.”
Then, following a back and forth with Yingling, who repeatedly
reminds Childs that Mr. Miscavige had agreed to the July 6
interview, that they had never said they weren’t going to wait and
that their sudden turnabout simply wasn’t fair, Childs counters:
“How is it not fair?”
Davis also reminds Childs who he is dealing with, reiterating
that Mr. Miscavige gave his agreement and:
“He always keeps his word. He always has.”
Childs’ response:
“I don’t doubt that, Tommy.”
Whereupon it’s like talking to a wall, and Childs adamantly
declares:
“We are not waiting until July 6 to talk to Mr. Miscavige.”
Friday, June 19, 2009:
But the die is now cast. Childs and Tobin know it is impossible
for Mr. Miscavige to meet earlier than the 6th as he is now en
route to the Freewinds and the OT Summit events are about to
begin. Moreover, Childs and Tobin request to interview more
than a dozen Church executives before meeting Mr. Miscavige and
those executives have now presented themselves in Clearwater.
Thus, Childs and Tobin “run out of time” prior to speaking to
these executives. Hence, even if Mr. Miscavige were present, they
simply had no time. [See The Brush-Off, p. 69.]
Saturday, June 20, 2009:
With publication imminent, Mr. Miscavige concludes
preparations for the first in his series of Freewinds presentations
62
20 June 2009
Dear Mr. Childs and Mr. Tobin,
I have been advised that you have decided to move forward with your
story without my interview. This, despite the fact confirmed more than
three weeks ago that I would make myself available on a date certain
(6 July), after you spoke to other relevant Church personnel and toured
Church facilities, and that I would provide information annihilating
the credibility of your sources including the fundamental crimes against
the Scientology religion that were the reasons for their removal from
post. You were advised that information would include addressing the
extraordinary "admissions" of one of your sources regarding a longsettled legal matter.
I was advised Thursday that you would only interview me on Friday,
although you well knew it would be impossible for me to meet with
you this week because of a long-standing commitment to be aboard the
SMV Freewinds for a week of religious events at the Church's annual
OT Summit. I am at a loss to comprehend how the St. Petersburg Times
can publish a story about me and the religion I lead without accepting
the offer to speak with me, on the pretense that you cannot wait until
after I have fulfilled my religious commitments.
While you have already received unequivocal statements from more
than a score of witnesses, along with documentary evidence, providing
incontrovertible proof that your sources are lying, I remain ready to sit
down for the requested interview on the date previously confirmed. If
you decide not to avail yourself of this opportunity, I insist you do not
misrepresent the fact that the decision was yours, not mine.
Kind regards.
Sincerely,
David Miscavige
and authors the above letter to Childs and Tobin. It is electronically
transmitted to the S.P. Times at 5:50 p.m. EST.
The ensuing article comprises a three-part series and is arguably
the first such article in S.P. Times history to profile a worldrenowned figure without interviewing that figure. It incites harsh
criticism, which is best summed up by the reader who wrote:
“This is how the National Enquirer got its start.”
Postscript:
In a clear admission of the fact Childs and Tobin arbitrarily
shifted their previously agreed timetable to exclude a David
Miscavige interview, nine days after publication of the final S.P.
Times installment, Tommy Davis received the following voice-mail:
“Tommy, Joe Childs, it’s now Thursday afternoon, Eastern
time, 1:15 or so.
“If we are still scheduled to speak with Mr. Miscavige on July
the 6th, then we need to know the time and place.
“If it’s going to be in Los Angeles, we’d need to know fairly
soon to make arrangements. And since we haven’t heard, I
assume that that’s not going to be the case.
“And if July the 6th isn’t any longer on the calendar, then we
will make requests for an interview when he’s available.
“You know how to reach both of us, Tom and I. So, we’ll wait
to hear from you. Thank you.”
In other words, they were requesting to keep the appointment
for the interview they had cancelled and for the story they had
already published. To which one must ask, who would believe the
sheer audacity?
www.freedommag.org
david miscavige
the peacemaker
“If you want to know what an ultimate goal would be,
it would of course be utter peace.”
—David Miscavige, St. Petersburg Times, 1998
I
t is Hubbard, after all, whose words Miscavige
will heed as he tries to improve Scientology’s standing in
Clearwater and around the world. Ten of them are inscribed
on his boardroom wall: ‘Ideas and not battles mark the forward
progress of mankind.’”
With these words, S.P. Times reporter
Tom Tobin closed his October 25, 1998,
profile of David Miscavige, Chairman
of the Board of Religious Technology
www.freedommag.org
Center, the Church body responsible for
safeguarding the purity of the Scientology
religion. The article, written by Tobin
and edited by Joe Childs, dominated the
front page and three interior pages of
the Times. It described Mr. Miscavige as
a peacemaker and chronicled his strides
in resolving long-standing battles for the
Church of Scientology, including those
with the Times.
The fact that Mr. Miscavige chose
the S.P. Times for his first-ever print
interview was significant. A man who had
been the subject of an Emmy-winning
interview on ABC’s Nightline and who
63
heads a worldwide religious movement
literally had the pick of any news
organization in the world. But an issue
was at stake of far greater importance
to the leader of the Scientology religion
than the selection of a media outlet:
“If you want to know what an ultimate
goal would be, it would of course be utter
peace. That’s misconception one, that
we like the war. That’s misconception
one.”
Granting an interview to the Times
was an important step toward bringing
that peace to the entire community.
Since 1975, the paper had written
hundreds of derogatory articles about
the Scientology religion, consistently
pounding the Church, its members and
leaders with vituperative rumor, innuendo
and allegation, all of which resulted in a
hostile environment for the Church with
some residents and officials in Clearwater.
Thus, Mr. Miscavige sought to dispel these
false rumors by giving the Times broad
and unfettered access to the Church, its
facilities, its staff––and to himself. The
reporters understood this and their story
got it right:
“You have now hit upon why I’m willing
to talk to you,” he told a Times news team
during a three-day visit to Scientology’s
Los Angeles-area headquarters. “If I
make an effort to resolve something I
have every intention of doing so.… I have
every intention of keeping my word.”
Mr. David Miscavige was the subject of an Emmy-winning interview on ABC’s Nightline.
arrival in Clearwater in 1975. And he
told them he hoped the interview would
open doors with the city of Clearwater.
Tobin quoted him as saying:
“I do think we have to put the past
behind us, and that’s why I felt a dialogue
should be opened. To take a bigger step.”
In the decade since that article, Mr.
Miscavige’s promises for improved
relations with the Clearwater community
have come true. The Church resolved
“I do think we have to put the past behind us,
and that’s why I felt a dialogue should be opened.
To take a bigger step.”
—David Miscavige,
St. Petersburg Times feature article, 1998
Mr. Miscavige did keep his word. The
reporters were invited for tours, interviews
and photo sessions in Clearwater and at
the Church’s international dissemination
center, Golden Era Productions, in
Southern California. Mr. Miscavige
answered extensive questions about his
life, his work and the Church’s activities.
He tackled head-on the rumors that had
dogged Scientology since the Church’s
64
all outstanding conflicts with the city.
Scientologists are active in many local
charities and civic groups. They sit on
development boards and arts councils.
They are in every way contributing citizens
of Clearwater, working to improve their
community. [See By the Numbers, p. 9.]
Throughout those years, the Church’s
doors continued to be open for Times
staff. Church staff were always available
to provide information and answer
questions. And when the Church
held its grand opening for the newly
restored Fort Harrison in March 2009,
Mr. Miscavige ensured that Joe Childs
received a personal invitation and tour.
And when the Church was contacted
concerning the current series and
the Times requested to interview Mr.
Miscavige, he once again agreed. He
not only agreed to be interviewed,
he also insisted the Church provide
Tobin and Childs full access to all
Church facilities across the globe
and that they be able to speak to
anyone requested. By this, there was
no question that Mr. Miscavige was
going to work with Childs and Tobin
to give them all information on the
Church and a full view of what he has
been engaged in.
This time, however, although he was
again the central focus of their story, the
reporters chose to rush into print without
speaking to him, cancelling the interview
because the story had already gone to
print. They walked away from an interview
with the very person who, they both knew,
would have set the facts straight.
The door to the Church was wide open,
but despite more than a decade of effort,
the S.P. Times slammed it shut.
www.freedommag.org
Scientology—a World Religion
International Religious Recognitions
of the Church of Scientology
T
here is no question of Scientology’s
legitimate status as one of the world
religions. Scientology is fully developed, by
definition of religion, in its theology, religious
practice and organization. The breadth and scope of the
religion include nearly 8,000 Churches of Scientology,
Missions and related organizations with over 20,000
full-time staff in 164 countries, all unified by a common
religious goal.
Millions of Scientologists around the world sincerely
believe in freedom of religion and the religious tenets and
practices of Scientology. For every one of these individuals,
Scientology is their religion. This is the most important test
of any true religion of the world—indeed, it is the test used
by the United States Supreme Court and high courts in
many other countries.
In further emphasis of Scientology’s progress since the
removal of the S.P. Times’ sources, here is but a partial list of
religious recognitions bestowed upon the Church since those
individuals were dismissed from any position of influence in
Church external affairs.
Global Recognition
2005 - 2009
May 2005—Church granted full religious recognition in
Kenya.
August 2005—Church granted full religious recognition in
Sri Lanka.
November 2005—Bavarian State Administrative Court of
Appeal ruled that the Church of Scientology Munich pursues
idealistic purposes.
December 2005—The Federal Supreme Administrative
Court in Germany upheld a ruling of the Hamburg State
Administrative Court of Appeal that actions taken by the
Hamburg government to discriminate against a Scientologist
interfered with her right to religious freedom protected by
the German Constitution.
May 2006—Kazakhstan Ministry of Justice registered the
Church of Scientology Mission as a religious association.
June 2006—Church of Scientology in Auckland, New
Zealand, was granted tax exemption.
www.freedommag.org
August 2006—The Church was granted full religious
recognition in Nicaragua.
November 2006—The Value Added Tax Office in the
Netherlands granted tax exemption to the Church of
Scientology of Amsterdam.
April 2007—The European Court of Human Rights, the
highest court in the European Union, recognized the right of
the Church of Scientology of Moscow to be registered as a
religious organization under the Russian Religion Law. This
decision was reaffirmed by the Court in September 2007.
September 2007—Church of Scientology of Portugal
officially recognized as a religious organization under that
nation’s new religious registration law.
September 2007—The European Court of Human
Rights upheld their April 2007 decision, fully recognizing
Scientology as a religion.
October 2007—The National Court in Madrid issued a
landmark decision affirming the right to religious freedom
by recognizing that the National Church of Scientology of
Spain should be entered in the Registry of Religious Entities.
The Ministry of Justice complied with the court’s order on
December 13, 2007.
December 2007—South African Revenue Service granted
the Church of Scientology the status of a Public Benefit
Organization as a religious entity with full tax exemption.
December 2007—United Kingdom Customs and Excise
Office agreed to refund 20 years of improperly collected
Value Added Taxes with interest. This refund totaled more
than $32 million.
December 2008—Church of Scientology of Argentina
received full religious recognition.
February 2009—Berlin Administrative Court ordered the
immediate removal of anti-Scientology propaganda placed
by the Berlin City Administration in front of the Church of
Scientology of Berlin. The Court found that the City’s actions
violated the Church’s right to religious freedom under Article
4 of the Constitution. The City appealed and the Court of
Appeal affirmed the decision in July 2009, establishing a
landmark ruling protecting the religious freedom rights of
the Church of Scientology throughout Germany.
65
“journalism 101”
TrAmpling on media ethics
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—Ame
“I guess I lost you after
you said ‘outrageous.’”
—Joe Childs in reply to
a description of the S.P. Times
journalistic process
I
t was a process that hinged on
unsubstantiated allegations from four
apostate Scientologists Childs and
Tobin had dredged up from what
they themselves termed as the Internet’s
“grassy knoll”––meaning domains of fringe
conspiracy theorists.
In all, the Tobin-Childs investigation
comprises 13 weeks of interviews
exclusively devoted to those four sources.
It’s headlined with a Tom Tobin statement
that reads:
“It’s our job to press for a full
examination of the facts with a clear
66
mind. Be open minded and clear minded.
... This is Journalism 101.”
Also chapter and verse from Joe Childs’
so-called journalistic procedure: All these
sources were interviewed independently;
there is no information exchange between
said sources; and all testimony was
relentlessly fact-checked.
In actuality, however, the Childs
statement is hollow, and this is what his
13 weeks of investigation failed to reveal:
The first Tobin-Childs source is Marty
Rathbun, former Scientology legal affairs
officer, removed from post in 2001. By his
own admission:
“Each and every time on major
[legal] situations, COB (Chairman of
the Board, Mr. David Miscavige) has
had to intervene to clean up wars I had
exacerbated. For example, left to my
own devices in handling IRS litigation,
the end result would undoubtedly have
been no exemption, a billion-dollar tax
bill, and possible shutting down of the
Church.”
The next Tobin-Childs source is Mike
Rinder, likewise an external legal affairs
officer until removed from post in 2002:
“I’ve wanted COB to be involved
in external flaps. I thought it wouldn’t
be such a big deal if I mishandled
them....What I have done has cut
across Scientology expansion and by my
treasonous acts I also created personal
hardship and distraction for COB,
which further prevented him from
expanding Scientology due to being
embroiled in legal matters he never
should have had to handle.”
Third on the Tobin-Childs source list
is Tom DeVocht. He served as Church
construction manager until removed from
post in 2005:
“Specifically and in short … I
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committed financial crimes by signing
work orders and committing expenses
without any authority. I worked out that
I am responsible for close to $10,000,000
(in lost parishioner funds).”
Finally, there is Amy Scobee, former
Scientology executive removed from any
position of authority in 2002:
“I have created too much harm for the
Church and people who work in it for
me to be able to make amends for these
violations.”
The above-cited statements are provided
by Tommy Davis to Childs and Tobin
on May 28 in Clearwater, Florida. Also
provided are details regarding the dismissals
of “their people” for these and other
wrongdoings––all in direct contradiction
to claims that said individuals resigned
from the Church in protest of Mr. David
Miscavige.
By way of a first gut reply, Joe Childs
focuses on a document wherein DeVocht
proposes he somehow make good on the
$10 million––to which Childs remarks:
“Isn’t that sweet,” [and laughs].
By way of a secondary reply, Davis asks:
“In all of this railing against Mr.
Miscavige and the Church by, whether it’s
Amy Scobee or Marty Rathbun or Tom
DeVocht, maybe I missed it and if I did,
I would be more than happy to be proven
wrong, but I don’t hear them saying
anything good is happening. You don’t
hear anything good is happening. You
don’t hear about the good and it really,
in my opinion, calls into question their
credibility.”
To which Childs replies:
“That makes a point.”
But it is also at this juncture that
Childs and Tobin are presented with what
amounts to the follow-up story of their
sources.
That is, while the Times’ “people” have
uniformly alleged an abusive “culture”
within Scientology management, the facts
were again diametrically opposite.
To wit:
“I myself began the practice of
browbeating people.”––Marty Rathbun
“Marty Rathbun and I were working
together as close friends and beating
up people. I drove the fear into people
with my physical handling of people
by shouting and demanding that
they confess. I might have given the
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impression to others that Mr. Miscavige
knew about it or condoned it, but when
Mr. Miscavige would come in asking
what was happening, I withheld what
was going on.”––Tom DeVocht
“I didn’t have the courage to counter
[Marty].”––Mike Rinder
“I abused my power and violated policy
by L. Ron Hubbard when I enforced
harsh discipline on certain staff….”
––Amy Scobee
There is a meaningful silence when
these statements are read, and this time
Childs admits:
Rathbun further cost the Church
millions of dollars in legal expenses.
• That Rathbun and Rinder acted in
collusion to willfully sabotage legal
cases to the net effect of tens of millions
of dollars more.
• That Tom DeVocht hired a
convicted felon to broker property
transactions for the Church, thereby
losing yet another million dollars in
parishioner donations.
• That Amy Scobee admitted to five
extramarital affairs and/or instances of
sexual misconduct during her tenure
“You have said a lot of things that he
[Marty Rathbun] needs to respond to.
“You have raised some concerns.”
—Joe Childs & Tom Tobin
“We definitely have to go back. We
definitely need to talk to Marty again.
You have said a lot of things that he needs
to respond to.”
Tobin chimes in:
“We can assure you we are proceeding
in good faith. You have raised some
concerns.”
At which point Mr. Davis concludes
the discussion by stating:
“I would hope you could at least
acknowledge that these people have an
ax to grind.”
To which both Childs and Tobin reply
in unison:
“We do.”
There’s a subsequent telephone call on
June 2, wherein Childs requests copies of all
previously presented documents. Through
the course of that call, he confesses:
“We’ve got some work to do. I expect
when we see the material tomorrow, we
will have even more work to do.”
Those documents indeed arrive the
following morning, and comprise more
than 2,000 column inches. A second
meeting is scheduled for June 10 wherein
another 1,000 column inches of material
is presented.
Included therein:
• That Marty Rathbun admits to more
than 25 physical assaults on fellow staff
members.
• That through dereliction of duties,
as a Church staff member, in direct
contravention of codes of conduct for
Church staff.
• And when the involvement of these
individuals was discovered they were
immediately and summarily removed. In reply to these facts and more, Childs
and Tobin “circle back” to re-interview all
concerned sources. There are no denials,
and within seven days Childs telephones
Tommy Davis to report that Rathbun
had confirmed the catalog of his physical
violence:
“You were right. He verified the list
you gave us and added some names we
didn’t have.”
To which Childs adds:
“It is a long list. That too will be in the
article.”
In fact, however, the final article makes
no mention whatsoever of Rathbun’s
admissions to Childs. Nor were readers
presented with anything close to the truth
about DeVocht’s malfeasance or the extent
of Scobee’s sexual misconduct.
Then, too, the S.P. Times has never
acknowledged that their sources withheld
information or lied to them over the course
of a three-month investigation.
Instead, the article closes with an entirely
fabricated image of Rathbun motorcycling
off into the sunset. After which––and this
too goes unmentioned––he wound up
dead drunk in a ditch.
67
Liar Liar Pants On Fire!
Reporter Tom Tobin takes credit for the Times’ gimmick known as the “Truth-O-Meter.” Reporters from
the Times fact-check statements made by politicians and lobbyists and rate them on the “Truth-O-Meter.”
The statements are rated from “True” if the statement is accurate and complete to “Pants on Fire” if the
statement is laughingly false.
Fact-checking Tobin and Childs’ own statements to Church representatives, Freedom has identified
a number of statements that we say are “Pants on Fire.” A few follow:
What We Say Are Pants on Fire
“I don’t think we’ve done anything
untoward, I mean this is Journalism 101.
You talk to the person and then you
get the response.”
Tom Tobin
“I have not been on
[the story] for 13 weeks.”
Joe Childs
“Then we found Amy Scobee
and she, like these others, is not on
that grassy knoll that fires stuff
onto the Internet.”
Joe Childs
Tobin and Childs refused to interview
David Miscavige and key witnesses
but instead rushed to press.
Childs and Tobin had been working
on their story in utter secrecy for
13 weeks before contacting the Church.
In fact, Amy Scobee has fired more
than 300 virulent postings across
Internet sites since 2006.
“Tommy, you need to listen to this.
Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder were friends
for 20 years. They remained friends.”
Mike Rinder told his wife he hated Marty Rathbun. Joe Childs
Rathbun once attacked him in a psychotic
rage and would have killed him if five men
had not stopped him from trying to
choke Rinder to death.
68
www.freedommag.org
the brush-off
rush to judgment, rush to press
>>The Opening Gambit
In the initial May 13 phone call to
Tommy Davis, Joe Childs requests
interviews with members of the
Scientology management team.
Childs lists them off—Guillaume
Lesevre, Marc Yager, Mark Ingber, Ray
Mithoff and Norman Starkey.
Davis asks, “That’s it?”
To which Childs responds, “Uh-huh.”
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That’s by no means, however, the end of
the exchange.
In fact, Childs and Tobin repeat the
request on 23 occasions. While, in turn,
Davis and fellow representatives from the
Church offer to facilitate the interviews no
less than 48 times.
By the 28th of May, Childs reiterates
the request inasmuch as “first-hand”
accounts are always invaluable. He is
assured by Davis that Lesevre, Yager,
Ingber, Starkey and many others with
personal knowledge, including the people
that supposedly were the subject of the
allegations, “definitely want to talk to you
and set the record straight.”
>> Tricks of the Trade
Childs is told—and this in no
uncertain terms—that Scientology’s
69
Church
Management
Executives
the S.P. Times
Didn’t Want
to Hear from
International
Church of
Scientology
executives, with
more than 470 years
of combined service
in the Church’s
religious order—the
Sea Organization.
Marc Yager
Sue Wilhere
Angie Blankenship
Mark Ingber
norman starkey
Ray Mithoff
Greg Wilhere
70
www.freedommag.org
Guillaume Lesevre
Lyman Spurlock
Russ Bellin
management team is actually quite
eager to meet. Indeed, they are
“outraged” that Childs even entertained
the likes of Marty Rathbun and Mike
Rinder, whom they have long regarded
as “beneath contempt.”
To which Childs replies (without
acknowledging the outrage) that he and
Tobin just as eagerly wish to meet the
team.
He then punches home the statement
saying: “Our strong preference is to talk
to them in person.”
Davis closes with a reassurance that the
face-to-face interviews will take place.
There’s a slight change in emphasis
through a telephone conversation on
June 2 when Childs explains he is
willing to take “second-hand” accounts.
That is: he will take statements from
Norman Starkey or Marc Yager as
relayed through Tommy Davis and
supply the “he saids” and the “commas,”
i.e., “It would be reported in the story:
‘comma Norman Starkey said’ or ‘Marc
Yager said.’”
Childs assures Davis that this is a
commonly employed “trick of the trade.”
Hence the Childs capper: “I’m not being
flippant.”
On more than one occasion, Childs
and Tobin boasted their story was
backed by “first-hand accounts,” i.e.,
that all interviews are face-to-face with
“their folks.” In just those terms, then,
the individuals Childs and Tobin had
requested to interview now insisted on
setting the record straight with their
own first-hand accounts presented
face-to-face.
>>The Turnabout
Dave Bloomberg
www.freedommag.org
There is a subsequent phone call on
June 17 in which Childs cryptically tells
Davis that if he wishes to respond, he
“should do it sooner than later.”
When Davis presses for clarification,
Childs simply replies: “We are getting
close here.”
Davis makes an appeal that Childs
stick to the agreed-upon time frame:
“I’m asking really as a matter of good
faith on your part and your paper that
we be given that opportunity.”
The call concludes, with a Joe
Childs statement in emphasis that
Childs indeed wishes to interview Mr.
Miscavige—a date that is set for July
6. However, Davis arranges schedules to
continue providing other interviews and
information to Tobin and Childs.
Twenty-four hours later, Childs tells
Davis the article is ready to roll and
interviews with Scientology’s management
team are suddenly superfluous.
Davis is naturally taken aback. Childs
remains unmoved and restates that he
and Tobin are moving forward, without
the interviews they had requested.
But Childs and Tobin well knew
those same individuals were insistent
upon having the opportunity to
speak to the Times. Moreover, Davis
emphasizes, “Our documentation has
proven your sources to be liars. They
change their story when you go back
to them with the truth. I think that is
more than enough cause to give us the
opportunity to now start giving you
‘first-hand reports.’”
The Childs response: “We’re not going
to wait.”
In a somewhat shocked reply, Davis
cites codes of responsible journalism,
then both implores and demands they
hear the team’s first-hand accounts.
However, Childs has already determined
that they are not needed. And what’s
more, he says it’s not just his decision,
it’s an “organizational decision.”
When informed of the Childs aboutface, these executives are nonetheless
still insistent on their own “face-to-face”
with the reporters. Consequently, and
though already scheduled for a Church
convention, they immediately redirect
flight bookings to Clearwater.
The result is a convergence of
Scientology executives who remained
sleepless through the night on red-eye
flights to speak to Childs and Tobin.
>>The Final Meeting
All comes to a climactic head on the
19th of June.
Assembled in a conference room at
the Fort Harrison are Joe Childs, Tom
Tobin, Tommy Davis and teammate
Jessica Feshbach, along with Church
counsel Monique Yingling and William
Walsh.
Waiting in the wings to speak to the
71
Those Who Knew Them Best
“There are, of course, the women they walked
out on—Rathbun after 15 years of marriage,
Rinder after 35 years of marriage and DeVocht
after 20 years of marriage. And their former
spouses have a bit to say.”
— Tommy Davis, May 28, 2009
“Our strong preference is to talk to them in
person.”
— Joe Childs, June 2, 2009
A
mong the Scientology executives who flew to
Clearwater to speak to Times reporters Childs and
Tobin were the former wives of their “sources.”
Two of these women had also served as their husbands’
bosses within the organization. Thereby, they were uniquely
qualified to speak about them both professionally and
personally and accurately portray the chasm between the
truth they lived and what their ex-husbands now claim.
The following excerpts are drawn from the statements
made to Childs and Tobin on June 19, 2009.
The total number of words in those statements: 17,109.
The total number quoted in the Times three-part series: 14.
Anne Joasem
(former wife of Marty Rathbun)
was married to him for 15 years.
“I
“I know what makes him tick
and this guy lives for war and fighting.
He told me so himself, many times.
That’s what he likes doing, that’s what
he does. He doesn’t know how to do
anything else, to be honest.
“You want to know why he first left in 1993 after the
IRS tax-exemption decision? He left because the war was
over. He had no more war, and that’s what he does.
“His ‘toughness’ was actually a very destructive part of his
Times reporters are 19 others who have
either just arrived or are still en route
via red-eye flights from Los Angeles,
New York and Dallas.
The meeting gets underway at 10:20 a.m.
Childs:
“We’re here today to listen, as we’ve
done on parts of three other days. We
72
character and very destructive to the organization. Anybody
that threatened him, or opposed him in some way, he would,
in his words, ‘take out.’
“I heard the allegations he made as to why he left again
at that point, that’s early 2004, and I heard he said he had
witnessed Tom DeVocht getting beaten up or something
like that. Look, he called me within hours of taking off. I was
the first person he called. He never said anything about this.
Never brought it up. He would have said something if that’s
why he left. What he did tell me, and that I am quoting, he
said ‘I am a warrior, I am a mercenary, I am a fighter, that’s
what I have always been, that’s what I am always going
to be.’ He said the Church is entering a phase of massive
expansion and because of this expansion, the Church is
going to become a threat, and there is going to be attacks
and at that point, we will need him and he will come back to
take care of these things.
“These statements are a little bit over the edge and we
were like, OK, there is something wrong with this guy. Also,
he has got a family history of these kinds of problems. So
we were a little bit worried. It runs in the family.
“So, Mr. Miscavige was concerned and for the second
time arranged a full program for him. He had me set up
this whole program of medical, we had the best specialist
we could find on handling his varicose veins. We did a gall
bladder handling. We did chiropractic handlings, dental
handlings. Everything you can think of. We checked a
colonoscopy, the whole nine yards. Nutritional program.
I said, do you want to work at the Mill or do you want
to work at Flag? He said, ‘I will work at the Mill.’ I said,
‘Good, work at the Mill.’ Five hours a day, that’s it. He
could do whatever he wanted the rest of the time, sleep
as long as he needed, vitamins; I mean, I took care of
everything.
“No pressures for nine months. He could do whatever
he wanted the rest of the time. At the end of those nine
months or after his medical was under control, he was doing
have an appointment in St. Petersburg
at 2:30 that we didn’t want to be
presumptive about. We decided, well
let’s keep it on the board, keep it in place,
come here at 10:00, and begin, rather
than just cancel it.”
Feshbach:
“We intend to spend the whole day
with you, so if that could be rearranged,
that would definitely be helpful.”
Childs:
“What’s the whole day mean to you?”
Feshbach:
“The whole day means, we’re on LA
time and the whole day ends at midnight
LA time.”
www.freedommag.org
quite well. ‘What are you going to do?’ I asked him many
times, because he wouldn’t come up with anything. And
that’s when he threatened me physically, in my face.
“I got scared. And I had good reasons to be scared because
I had seen him right after a phone call with Tom DeVocht
where he got mad at him for some reason or another, put his
fist through a computer screen and shattered it, completely.
He just flipped. So, I was actually concerned for my safety
and I moved apartments at that point and locked my door.
“He left shortly thereafter.”
[his] location, which is the first time I even knew where he
was. He was in the UK at the time he left. In that email,
he summonsed me to join him. Now we have two kids,
he didn’t mention the children and just summonsed me,
as you would, or however, that I was to join him—and
frankly, maybe he just deserted his religion, his church, his
position of trust, but me, no never. I said no, and I don’t
think he liked that.
“He just walked out. It’s not something people do, it was
very emotional to deal with.”
Cathy Bernardini
Jenny Linson
“I
“I
(former wife of Mike Rinder)
was married to him for almost 35
years.
“Over the years, he has told me so
many times about various actions Mr.
Miscavige has extended to him and that
he was just blown away with because he
knew that David Miscavige really cared about him and really
did. And he did.
“In January 2004 when Marty Rathbun beat him up, I
thought he was going to kill Mike and I was hysterical. Mike
had cuts on his ears and face, his lips were swollen, his face
was bruised, he had bruises on his chest. He was a mess.
Those injuries lasted for days. It was a nightmare.
“In January 2004, when Marty Rathbun beat him…now I
was there, I worked in the building, I was at that meeting.
“Marty literally lunged at Mike and just started beating
the hell out of him, got him to the ground, put his entire
body on top of Mike’s chest and then started strangling him.
Mike turned purple. I was hysterical. He’s turning purple.
This guy’s nuts, he’s insane. I literally thought he was going
to kill my husband and I was upset. One other thing is, that
wasn’t the first time.
“So it is a bit uncanny that I heard something like Mike
saying he and Marty had been best friends for years. He told
me that he hated Marty.
“After Mike walked out, which was in June 2007—10th
of June, I didn’t hear from him for weeks. And in July, I
think it was July 1 or 2, an email arrived from Mike giving
12:29 p.m.:
After a short break for lunch, Feshbach
makes a prefatory comment:
“Just so you know, everyone you’re
going to see today hasn’t slept—they’ve
been up all night traveling.”
With that, the first from the Tobinwww.freedommag.org
(former wife of Tom DeVocht)
was married to him for almost 20
years, from 1986 until he left the
Church in 2005.
“I have also been his indirect boss
most of the time since 1996, so I am
talking about him as a member of the
organization as well as a husband.
“He was taken off post three or four times because of his
negligence and, frankly, his incompetence. When Tom was
construction manager on large projects, he started signing
contracts with no authority financially and way beyond
budget. He was extremely out of control and bills started
coming in and it was a real mess. He told me that a project
was out of control and he was worried about it. ‘I’m not
telling anybody about it and I certainly don’t want Chairman
of the Board to know anything about it.’
“He created so many expensive disasters, he had to be
taken off the projects entirely. In 2005 he was told, ‘You’re out
of control. You cannot be in these positions anymore,’ and at
that point he decided to take off. And then he left without a
word to me. Where I come from, you don’t just walk out on
your wife without saying anything.
“On a personal level, he spent my money, too—he spent
my inheritance. While I was away on projects, he sold my
BMW and my Honda del Sol and spent the money.
“Now, after he left, I found out that on our wedding
day he stole the money my grandmother had given us as a
wedding gift for our honeymoon.”
Childs roster of requested interviews
begins.
Her name is Jenny Linson. She is a
Church management executive, the former
wife of Tom DeVocht, and indeed was her
ex-husband’s boss.
Among other details provided, she
addresses specific allegations, including:
“This violence he says happened in
2004, that he says made him leave—I
was there and I never witnessed such a
thing. Why would he be saying this? It
boils down to bitterness at losing such
an exciting life with important projects,
a group continually on the cutting edge.
He always liked the excitement, he always
73
wanted power and he always wanted
more.”
1:26 p.m.:
Next up, another of the wives, Ms.
Cathy Bernardini. She, too, sets the
record straight on claims her ex has
made to the Times:
“He says something about his lying
to the BBC [regarding allegations
against the Church]. In 2007, it was
March and he found out he needed
to go to the UK to meet with the
BBC at the time. And he told me,
as he’s getting ready to pack, saying
he was sick of dealing with these
people. He said, ‘Their allegations
2:40 p.m.:
The “2:30 appointment”passes without
comment. At which point, Childs lays
the groundwork for his next “deadline.”
Childs:
“We appreciate that you have gone
through a huge logistical calculation
here and the reality is that we wouldn’t
get through even another five by now
and 7:00!”
Feshbach:
“We have all night.”
Childs:
“Well, but we don’t have all night
and we have time to read statements
that we can’t hear in person.”
“He is literally rewriting history in his head
as to what happened and inverting everything.
What he’s saying COB was doing, Marty was
doing. He wanted a war and there hasn’t been
a war since he left.”
are outrageous. They are lies.’ The
reason it’s so vividly in my mind is
that was the last time I saw him.”
2:09 p.m.:
Still another former wife of a Times
“source,” Ms. Anne Joasem, follows.
If she’s the highest-ranking Church
executive to speak thus far, she’s also
most damning to the Tobin-Childs
premise:
“When I hear Marty is saying he was
high up in the structure, I am outraged.
He was walking in the shadow of
greatness.
“He is literally rewriting history
in his head as to what happened and
inverting everything. What he’s saying
COB was doing, Marty was doing. He
wanted a war and there hasn’t been a
war since he left.
“He thought that with Church
expansion there would be attacks and
we would need him and he would
come back to take care of these things.
We didn’t beg for him to come back
and it’s booming without him and he
can’t stand it.”
74
Feshbach:
“We have gone more than ‘out of
our way.’ That is what you requested.
You wanted these people.”
Yingling:
“You’re the ones who set the limit
on the time and so we brought as many
people as we could so that they could
try to address the allegations.”
Childs (albeit reluctantly) agrees to
continue.
that says: ‘The overt doth speak loudly
in accusation.’ And you understand
what that basically means—you
transgress, you are the first person to
blame it on somebody else. And that
is very much the case of where [these
allegations are] coming from.”
So it continued throughout the
afternoon, with a stream of “first-hand”
accounts laying bare the false accusations.
Further, each interviewee has worked
personally and extensively with Mr.
Miscavige. They include: long-time
Church counsel, Mr. Eric Lieberman; film
director, Mr. Mitch Brisker; professional
writer, Mr. Christopher Smith; and
L. Ron Hubbard Biographer, Mr. Dan
Sherman.
5:27 p.m.:
With another nine veteran Church
executives on deck, Childs stands and
announces:
“I have other things that I need to
do tonight and this doesn’t twin with
it.”
Feshbach:
“But how could you…”
Childs:
“We had a productive series of
sessions—the women who are the
ex-wives, and so 5:30. It seems to me,
let’s go.”
To which he adds: “Put the fax
number down here.”
Davis:
“You wanted first-hand accounts,
we have first-hand accounts in this
building. Do you want to see them or
not?”
“He [Marty Rathbun] was walking
in the shadow of greatness.”
3:01 p.m.:
Next to enter is a pivotal character in
the apostate allegations: Mr. Norman
Starkey, 41-year Sea Organization
veteran. He speaks to the reporters for
a full 40 minutes:
“There is a statement in Scientology
Tobin:
“You wait until we tell you there is
a short time, and you just dump them
on us.”
Feshbach:
“Hey, hold on a second. We’re
dumping the people you asked to talk
to?”
www.freedommag.org
Childs:
“It was your decision to bring them
in here today, and to bring them at the
end of the day.”
5:29 p.m.:
Childs:
“I said two hours earlier that we’re
leaving at 5:30....Now it’s 5:30 and
you walk in and say, ‘We’ve got the
trombone section outside.’”
Feshbach:
“I had people driving from Orlando
off red-eye flights to get here. I had
other people having to go via Atlanta,
I mean really....”
5:30 p.m.:
Tobin:
“So now you want me to stay here
till midnight to talk to this group? You
know it’s not practical.”
Church representative Monique
Yingling:
“Well, I certainly think we could
go a little longer. We could meet
tomorrow.”
5:31 p.m.:
The balance of the originally requested
interviewees has now assembled outside
the conference room door.
Childs:
“We’re on our way. We’re on our
way.”
Feshbach:
“If you guys could just hold on a
second, I would really appreciate it.”
5:35 p.m.:
Scientology’s management team now
actually enters the conference room.
Davis makes the introductions:
Davis:
“Marc Yager, Guillaume Lesevre,
Ray Mithoff, Mark Ingber, Greg
Wilhere, Angie Blankenship, David
Bloomberg, Lyman Spurlock, and
Russ Bellin—Joe Childs, Tom
Tobin.”
He then turns back to Childs and
Tobin:
“So you’re insistent on leaving. I
diverted them from the Freewinds, all
over the place. Angie had to come in
from Dallas. I told them that you were
www.freedommag.org
leaving, didn’t want to hear from them
and were saying that they should fax
their statements to you and they didn’t
like that very much. So they said, ‘We
want to come down and talk to them
right now, that means all of us, before
they leave.’ I think each of them has a
few things they’d like to say.”
Tobin:
“You all should know that we didn’t
create this situation.”
Childs:
“Did you all get told…that you
could phone us any time and give us
your account, your statement?”
Bloomberg:
“Yes, but we said we wanted to see
you in person because we were not
going to do some brush-off on the
phone.”
Feshbach:
“Joe, do you want to hear what they
have to say or not?”
As he and Tobin make their exit,
Childs scowls:
“Goodbye everybody. Goodbye.”
Postscript:
Having shot their wad on the 21st
of June 2009, Joe Childs and Tom
Tobin attempt to salvage some shred of
journalistic credibility by dredging up
another motley crew of suddenly “onthe-record” witnesses. Among them are
three defrocked Scientologists who now
picket Churches with Internet terrorists,
a bankrupt taxi driver and the webmaster
for the site where Marty Rathbun posts
his delusory diatribes about taking
over the Church and his fundamental
disagreements with Mr. Hubbard’s
writings. Moreover, virtually all of the
allegations come from the “grassy knoll” of
the Internet, notorious anti-Scientology
websites and “witnesses” who post under
pseudonyms.
“Our documentation has proven
your sources to be liars. They change
their story when you go back to them
with the truth.”
Childs:
“It would take all night.”
Forty-one-year Sea Org executive,
Mark Ingber:
“We’ll stay all night.”
Thirty-five-year Sea Org veteran and
Scientology’s International Executive
Director Guillaume Lesevre in unison
with fellow executives: “We’re here!”
5:58 p.m.:
Childs:
“Monique, Tommy, can I talk to you
in the hallway here?”
Blankenship:
“You’re not going to hear us? Unreal!
It’s outrageous.”
Davis:
“What happens now, Joe?”
Childs:
“Well, we publish our story when
we get it ready.”
But for the real revelation of just how
low the S.P. Times will stoop to resurrect a
dead-beat story, one need only consider the
latest Childs-Tobin letter to Tommy Davis.
It is dated July 22, 2009, or better than a
month after Childs and Tobin cancelled
interviews with Mr. David Miscavige and
senior Church executives. It regurgitates
the same old allegations of abuse with
alleged victims including: Guillaume
Lesevre, Marc Yager, Ray Mithoff and
Greg Wilhere.
Once again, Childs and Tobin are asking
for testimony from the very same senior
Church executives they had previously
refused to hear.
To which one can only conclude:
Childs, Tobin and the S.P. Times truly have
no scruples.
75
What Really Happened
I
magine this:
Individuals
formerly in charge of external
legal affairs of the Church are
removed from their positions
of authority by the ecclesiastical
leader of Scientology, Mr. David
Miscavige. These people are
guilty of gross malfeasance in
the performance of their duties
and they are in disgrace. They
are demoted and stripped of any
authority. They are given new
positions, albeit in a substantially
reduced capacity. Unhappy with their fall
from power and unwilling to reform, they
choose to turn their backs on friends and
family and leave their religion.
Years later, broke, busted and bitter,
they conspire to feed a stream of lies to
a newspaper infamous for printing any
allegation—no matter how unbelievable
and unreliable—attacking the Church
of Scientology, its leaders and members.
They attempt to represent themselves as
concerned “reformers” protesting abuse
in the Church. Of course, their chosen
forum—the S.P. Times—is a newspaper
detested by Scientologists for having
viciously attacked the religion for more
than 25 years. The Times’ sources knew
this as they themselves often dealt with
the lies printed by the Times. Hence,
anyone else but the Times would have well
known the motivation of these sources
wasn’t so-called “reform,” but a calculated
move to spew their venom and “get back”
at the person responsible for their removal.
But then again, the Times is a publication
that has never missed an opportunity to
attack the Church, no matter the bias and
prejudice of their sources, since none were
more biased than the Times itself.
But that is not the complete story—far
from it.
The full story of what motivated the
Times’ three main sources, Marty Rathbun,
76
Mike Rinder and Tom DeVocht, is sinister
and shocking. It involves their own sordid
criminal conspiracy, never fully known
by the Church and revealing the true
character of the Times’ sources and their
penchant for lying.
By way of background, numerous
legal matters supposedly supervised by
Rathbun and Rinder, who had operated as
external legal affairs officers, were grossly
mishandled, resulting in cases that should
never have existed and extensive legal fees
and costs to the Church that should never
have been incurred. These matters were
subsequently brought to peace by Mr.
Miscavige. This led to extensive internal
investigations initiated by Mr. Miscavige
himself to clean house and get to the
bottom of what could have brought about
such disasters.
Whereupon, those responsible staff were
summarily removed from their positions
of authority—including Rathbun and
Rinder—both for repeated catastrophes
of their own creation, and sabotaging the
successful handling of the legal cases they
supervised.
Although these individuals were
removed from their posts in 2002, the
internal investigation to uncover legal
malfeasance and clean house continued
as lingering questions remained through
2003 and 2004. In particular: who was the
real source and cause of past legal
disputes? This investigation then
led to additional revelations of
their wrongdoing.
In his own words, Rathbun
admitted personal responsibility
for “the magnitude of the harm
visited upon Scientology, and
thus mankind, through my losing
ways,” causing the Church to
spend—by his own calculation—
over $43 million in parishioner
funds to defend matters he had
instigated improperly or had sabotaged
through his own legal malfeasance without
anyone’s knowledge.
His further admissions mirrored the
findings of the internal investigation which
led to his removal from post:
“I have a proven proclivity for creating
some of the greatest catastrophes in
Church history when allowed to have
some leash.”
Separately, the internal investigation
also revealed that Rinder was equally
responsible for complicity in every instance
of this legal malfeasance. This was revealed
by Rathbun when he admitted in a public
announcement to fellow staff:
“I recognize my actions have been
unfounded and ignorant and destructive
in the extreme. There is no conspiracy
connected with this pattern of suppression,
except a portion of it. That is Mike Rinder
who has gone into tacit agreement with
me on making nothing of situations, false
reporting on them, and allowing them to
expand until they explode on Chairman of
the Board’s plate to handle.”
Given the extent of their destructive acts,
there was no question as to why both of
these individuals were removed from their
positions of authority by Mr. Miscavige.
They, along with their peers, knew full well
that they would never hold such elevated
positions again.
www.freedommag.org
As the investigation continued to
uncover further malfeasance, Rathbun’s
permanent post removal was confirmed by
his termination and demotion to a lower
Church organization in December 2003.
Once stripped of even a thin veneer of
authority he had maintained by virtue of
lower level Churches finally aware of his
ecclesiastical crimes, he rapidly deteriorated
into a psychotic state. It was most manifest
in physical attacks on other staff and
what otherwise was described as a “reign
of terror.” In this, he was joined by Tom
DeVocht, who subsequently confessed
that: “Marty Rathbun and I were working
together as close friends and beating up
people” and, more revealing, that “Mike
Rinder got beaten by Marty and I.”
Rathbun’s decision to join forces with
DeVocht constituted a mystery that would
only be cleared up years later. But for now,
nobody could understand their relationship,
since during their entire staff tenure they
performed entirely different functions—
Rathbun handling legal affairs, DeVocht
supervising building renovations.
Nevertheless, when Mr. Miscavige
returned to the Church location where
they had instituted their self-proclaimed
“reign of terror,” he uncovered their abuses
and summarily put them to an end. Shortly
thereafter, in February 2004, Rathbun
deserted in disgrace for the second time.
As for DeVocht, he never disclosed his
dark secret—his unknown conspiracy
with Rathbun. Indeed, as the investigation
continued, he too suddenly deserted—
leaving both the Church and his wife...
albeit not without a “good luck” handshake
from Rinder, soon discovered, but which
Rinder refused to explain. Again, it was
another mystery not to be cleared up for
years.
Meanwhile, Rinder worked in various
low-level positions and the investigation
into legal botch-ups faded away as
the Church moved forward in peace,
embarking on new expansion plans.
Then suddenly, three years after
Rathbun’s final desertion, it came to light
that he had in fact slinked away with a
dark, sinister secret.
The date was January 2007, when a staff
member came forward with a lingering
suspicion that Rathbun and Rinder had
conspired to withhold vital information in
a legal case. In particular, it was reported
www.freedommag.org
that every time Mr. Miscavige had ordered
Rathbun and Rinder to investigate a
particularly egregious act and why it had
even occurred, they would wink at each
other as soon as Mr. Miscavige left the
room.
Although Rathbun was long gone,
confronted with the facts, Rinder admitted
he had indeed conspired with Rathbun. In
essence, then, the very investigation Mr.
Miscavige had repeatedly, and for years,
ordered Rathbun and Rinder to conduct
had always “dead ended” as they were
themselves the culprits.
In consequence, Rinder was further
demoted and informed he would be
barred from ever holding any position of
authority in the international ecclesiastical
management structure. Shortly thereafter,
now working in England where he had
been transferred, and denied the power he
so cherished, he too walked away in the
dead of night.
However, certain mysteries still
remained: The Marty Rathbun–Tom
DeVocht relationship that motivated them
to team up to beat up fellow staff who
dared ask them about their unexplainable
partnership. And another: The mysterious
handshake from Rinder when DeVocht
deserted—desertion being an act uniformly
despised by Church members and grounds
for automatic expulsion from the religion
as mandated by ecclesiastic Justice Codes.
Finally, why did DeVocht aid and abet
Rathbun and Rinder as part of the S.P.
Times attack?
The answer to these questions came
in Rathbun’s shocking revelation to the
S.P. Times. Rathbun revealed for the first
time that he had destroyed evidence and
that DeVocht was also directly involved
in his criminal scheme to suborn perjury.
Moreover, and for all intents and purposes,
they formed an agreement in blood to
never tell their superiors, in particular, Mr.
Miscavige.
So, not only did this trio place the
Church in jeopardy through obstruction
of justice, but in so doing they incurred
untold millions in legal expenses to defend
their acts—thought to be instigated by
others.
While to make matters worse, it once
again required the efforts of Mr. Miscavige
to clean up their mess—distracting him
from his ecclesiastic duties for six years.
Moreover, he had to do it all while wholly
in the dark as to what had really occurred
and who the responsible parties were.
In that regard, these so-called legal
affairs guys were, in actuality, the enemy
within.
Coming clean to the Times, Rathbun
admitted that he committed crimes on his
own initiative without any direction to do
so and that he specifically withheld these
destructive actions from his seniors.
The S.P. Times well knew its three
major sources were each involved in a
conspiracy to lie. The S.P. Times also now
knew that neither the Church nor its
current leadership had any knowledge
of their actions. Rathbun’s own damning
utterances to the reporters provided clear
evidence of the sources’ complete lack of
character and credibility.
And what did the S.P. Times do when
presented with allegations of wrongdoing
by admitted liars and co-conspirators?
Rather than write a story focusing on
the felonies committed by their sources and
their wrongdoing, it made short shrift of
these serious transgressions while eagerly
listening as the sources spoon-fed them
a new web of lies designed to attack the
man who had removed them, Mr. David
Miscavige, the man who they had lied
to for nearly a decade to cover up their
crimes.
Worse yet, when Church representatives
confronted the Times reporters with
unequivocal evidence that their sources
were further lying about their concocted
fairy tales of so-called “abuse”—that their
sources were actually the ones committing
the abuses they complained of, that they
were removed from their positions of
authority for committing those very
abuses, and that the Times was being used
as a vehicle to get back at the person who
ended their reign of terror—the Times
instead rushed to print their sources’ lies.
Needless to say, it was nothing less than
“damage control” to keep the Church from
utterly discrediting their sources—not to
mention exposing the Times’ utter lack of
journalistic skill in failing to uncover their
lies in 13 weeks of “investigation.”
After all, joining together to lie was the
one thing Rathbun, Rinder and DeVocht
had proven they were good at—and the
Times, though conned, has never been
known for humility.
77
How to be an Investigative Reporter at
the St. Petersburg Times (it’s easy)
Step 1 >> That word “investigative” is highly overrated, especially inasmuch as 80 percent
of all information necessary for your story is readily available on the Internet. It’s just a matter of
trolling lunatic fringe sites for any and all allegations, no matter how hair-brained, then attributing
said allegations to any of the following: repossessed furniture dealers, night janitors and selfproclaimed creators of the universe. Also of note: Car salesmen make excellent corroborators.
Step 2 >> There’s nothing wrong with regurgitating old stories and passing them off as “new
investigative breakthroughs.” By way of example, if you previously managed to slip half-baked
allegations past your readers, publish them again and they’ll be fully baked. Publish them 50 times
and they’ll become as hard and durable as volcanic rock!
Step 3 >> Whenever discussing your work, continually drop such phrases as “Journalism
101” and “investigative process.” It may not get you a Pulitzer Prize, but it will make you feel like
you’re in the running.
Step 4 >> (and most important) Never interview the primary subject of an “investigative
profile.” He or she might well have something to say.
Besides, you can always do the interview after your article goes to press. Why let the public
figure whose name you want to profit from get in the way of that Pulitzer you have your eye on!
78
www.freedommag.org
A Closing Word
Y
Why,
Fortunately, however, the truth prevails. It
ou have now glimpsed both the face
with David Miscavige
prevails in the many millions who now live
of Scientology and the underbelly of
at the helm, is Scientology
now the fastest-growing
better lives because Mr. Miscavige presented
the S.P. Times. The first is a genuinely
religious movement of
unadulterated truths of Dianetics and
glorious look at a better world for
the 21st century?
Scientology in ways anyone can appreciate
all Mankind. The second is like
and utilize. It prevails in the many millions
looking down a drainpipe. Not everything
is clear, but one can certainly discern enough to know it’s more who are now literate, drug-free, crime-free and happy
because Mr. Miscavige presented other technologies of
unwholesome and unsavory.
That the S.P. Times would elect to cancel a scheduled L. Ron Hubbard—pretty much just for the asking.
So if you want to know about David Miscavige and the
interview with Mr. Miscavige and yet interview a repo-man,
a flogger of used furniture and a suborner of perjury, then Church of Scientology, don’t ask the S.P. Times, don’t ask a
fob it all off as the basis of a David Miscavige profile, is not Kingpin, a Fact-Checker, a Con Man or an Adulteress. Ask
journalism; it’s media manipulation and naked character a Scientologist; ask those who partner with Scientologists to
help their fellow man; ask those who’ve seen what Scientology
assassination.
That the S.P. Times sources would accuse Mr. Miscavige of can do.
Then ask yourself: If the tabloid headlines presented by
the very misdeeds they themselves committed is not only an
injustice, it’s also a crime. For to slander a man of greatness the S.P. Times are in any way balanced, accurate or fair—then
and goodwill is to slander what is great and good within all why, with David Miscavige at the helm, is Scientology now
the fastest-growing religious movement of the 21st century?
of us.
Investigative Reporting in the Public Interest
Freedom Magazine has long been a voice for the Church of Scientology. Today,
that voice exposes journalistic injustice within St. Petersburg Times—the trickery, the
deception, the arrogance.
But we know we are not alone. So to all who have been capriciously targeted by the
Times: public servants, community leaders and members of the business community—
let Freedom hear from you...
And together, we can take a stand for decency and fair coverage.
www.freedommag.org
79
Church of Scientology
Flag Service Organization
PO Box 31751
Tampa, FL 33631-3751
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY
FLAG SERVICE ORGANIZATION
It is the only major new religion to have emerged in the 20th century.
It is growing at an incredible rate.
People from all walks of life use it every day.
Its followers number in the millions.
What is Scientology?
Find out for yourself
Scientology: An Overview
A DVD presentation of more than 80 videos including:
• A biography of Scientology
Founder L. Ron Hubbard
• The beliefs of Scientology
• Individual Scientologists
speaking about their religion
• A tour of a Church
of Scientology
• Church of Scientology
social betterment programs
• Dianetics (the forerunner
and substudy of Scientology)
around the world today
To receive your free DVD, visit www.scientology.org/freedvd

scientology`s - Freedom Magazine

Transcription

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